Raising Stars
by StickieBun
Summary: Kai and his Twin sister Briella has grown up and are both getting close to taking the exam and becoming fully fledged reapers like their parents. And while Briella is overly excited at the chance at standing proud as a dispatch reaper; Kai struggles to find where he actually belongs. But if he doesn't join dispatch, can his family really proud of him? Sequel to Timberdale Reapers.
1. Chapter 1

**Raising Stars**

**Chapter 1**

The snow floated down gently, covering the streets of London. Colorful lights twinkled in the windows, candles, wreaths hanging on nearly every door, and soft music in the air.

Christmas.

A time for family…and for a whole lot of noise and activity.

This year, William Spears and his husband Ronald were hosting their family party, which meant that their walls were nearly bursting. Their family had gotten so large over the years…almost too large.

There was the original family. Undertaker and his son Alan. Alan's husband Eric and their two children Ronald and Rachel. Rachel was still quite young at just recently eleven years of age. But her brother was married and had children of his own. The twins, Briella and Kai, both sixteen years old. Then their youngest Richard, (named after William's deceased twin brother) who was ten.

Then there was Undertaker's wife Grell Sutcliff and their adoptive son Ciel, who had been trapped at the age of thirteen for centuries…but finally had gotten the chance at growing up and was a full-grown man with two wives; Doll and Lizzy. Together, the three of them had a son Sebastian (named after Ciel's former butler and brother figure who had died) who was only three years old, looked like his father, with his birth mother's reaper eyes. (Doll).

Eric's mother Meredith was also visiting for the holiday, as was Snake; Eric's accidentally adopted son. It wasn't official, but the young demon had grown to see Eric as his father and Eric had no objections to the sweet young man seeing him as such. Snake's husband Joker had also tagged along, bringing with him Dagger, who Briella had quite the crush on, and had for years. Everyone assumed they were dating, but they had yet to confirm or deny their assumed relationship.

And then of course there were the three family pets. William's dog Soul, Ronald's giant rabbit Mary…and Kai's pet skunk Pinstripe (Who had been operated on to remove his spray pouch).

There was hardly space in the house to even sit and think. And Kai gave up, walking outside into the snowy back yard. He sighed and sat on a stone, snow-covered bench, leaning back against the backing of the bench, looking up at the grey sky. He doubted he'd be missed, anyway.

Pinstripe snuffed about through the snow to his master's feet, climbing up stiff pink jean pants with recently clipped claws. Settling down in Kai's lap, he peered up with beady eyes, nose twitching.

The soft crunch of snow sounded, as two voices giggled, Rachel and Richard appearing from the doorway in full out snow pants, jackets, mittens and boots.

Kai smiled at his beloved pet, petting him along his back and tail. Sometimes he couldn't believe his father and mother had let him keep the skunk, but he was glad they did. Pinstripe was his best friend—his only friend unless he counted his siblings… "Aren't you cold out here? Snow makes you sleepy."

Pinstripe snorted, his tiny yellow green eyes squinting as a cold wind blew, ruffling his fur. Turning, he burrowed his head into Kai's stomach, hiding.

There was a shout, a loud cry of "RICHARD!" as a snowball came flying to hit Kai in the face.

"Bulls-eye!"

"Richard, look what you did!"

"Whaa?" The young teenager shook the snow from his face, hugging his pet, "Hey! Keep your snowball fights between yourselves! I wasn't playing!"

"Sorry, Kai-Kai!"

Rachel ran over, her long platinum blond hair coated in a thick layer of snow. Reaching her cousin's side, she reached up, attempts of brushing the snow from his face soon turning to wiping slush all over his hair.

Kai sighed, he was unable to stay upset at the younger members of his family. His aunt (Whom he and his sibling called their cousin just because of her age) was no exception. "Is it still loud inside the house?" he asked her.

She nodded.

"Uh huh! Daddy, big brother an' Will are still out getting the turkey, and Snake was showin' Granny his tummy!"

"Annnnd," Richard piped up, sliding up beside his cousin and brother, falling on his rear. "Great Grandpa stank out the living room so everyone's in the kitchen!"

"…Is it just me, or does this family get odder and odder each Christmas?" He sighed, "So you two came out to play in the snow?"

"Yup!" Rachel spun about, flopping down in the snow beside Richard. "After Bri gave Sebastian your make up kit to play with!"

"WHAT?!" He stood up and ran into the house. He had expensive makeup in that box!

Inside was crowded, the family lingering about left and right, chattering away while others aided with the holiday dinner. Joker and Snake stood by the radio, locked in a gentle, almost soothing dance; Beast, who had shown up recently and unexpectedly, chatted with Doll and Elizabeth, a tiger cub in his arms; Dagger was nowhere to be seen, as was Briella - Kai's wild twin sister - and Alan, Undertaker and Grell were seen in the kitchen with Ciel, cooking.

Just as Kai rounded the corner to the stairs, a hand caught his shoulder.

"And where do ya think yer goin'?! Ya've barely been spotted all nigh'!"

Meredith stood behind him, a light scowl upon her face.

Kai blinked at his great grandmother, "Up…to my room?" he said slowly.

"So ya can hide again? I dun think so!" the old witch growled, steering her great grandson to the kitchen. "Yer gonna become like Vincent used ta be if ya keep tha' up!"

"I'm not going up there to hide!" He protested, hugging his skunk, "Grandmama!"

Meredith ignored him, waltzing into the chicken-smelling room, food covering counters and in the oven, shoving the boy forward.

"Found yer Grandson, Alan." she grunted.

"Where have you been, Kai?" Alan asked, checking on the pies in the oven.

"Outside—but I need to—"

"Why don't you help us here in the kitchen?" Alan asked, smiling, "I miss when you used to beg me to let you help cook."

But—first can't I finish what I need to do?"

"Which is what, my dear boy~?" Undertaker giggled, clad in a pink apron, moving to dab a touch of red icing on his wife's cheek.

Pinstripe snorted, giving Kai's cheek a comforting lick.

"…You'll just think it's stupid…" Kai muttered, looking down at the skunk that supported a pink bow around his neck.

"Nonsense, my dear boy, nothing is stupid!" his great Grandfather chimed.

"Unless yer Eric an' ya think it's a good idea ta set a tree on fire ta 'clear some space' in a forest." Meredith grumbled, shuffling past to steal a cookie from the tray Grell was pulling down from the cooling rack.

"…Rachel and Richard said Bri gave my makeup kit to Sebastian. And that's not for a three year old to play with!"

"What?" Ciel glanced over, narrowing his eyes. "Oh, hell no!"

He strode swiftly from the kitchen, aiming for the stairs.

"Can I go? Please, Grandma, I'll come back once I'm done—promise!"

Alan sighed, "Be quick."

Thank you!" Kai turned and ran out of the kitchen.

Ciel was already at the top by the time the boy caught up, voices giggling and whispering in hushed tones from down the hall. Making his way to the last room, the door pink and decorated with all things fantasy, he pushed open the door and peeked inside.

"Daddy!"

Kai groaned, peaking in at the mess of his makeup kit. Powders were spilled, lipsticks smashed—luckily, his nail polish hadn't been touched.

"Daddy, Daddy! I'm pwetty!" The three year old smiled, running over to Ciel looking like a clown.

Ciel merely groaned, picking the toddler up into his arms.

"Sebastian, Mama just got you all clean up for dinner-!"

Sighing, he bounced the child, moving to go downstairs in search of his wives. Pausing at the door, he glanced at Kai.

"I apologize for your make up... Would you like some help after I get this rascal cleaned up?"

The boy sighed, "If I haven't finished by then." He nodded, walking over to the mess. Most of his favorite stuff was ruined and would have to be thrown out… He definitely had a bone to pick with his twin sister.

Pinstripe squalled, not liking the mixture of scents the perfume was giving off, sneezing in irritation. Wiggling from his owner's arms, he jumped to the floor, waddling over to the kit, growling as he turned around attempted to 'spray' the smell away.

The display brought a smile to Kai's face, and he gave off a small giggle, "Sorry, that's not going to help the mix of smells…" he walked to the bathroom to get hot water and a cloth to scrub the stains from the carpet before getting to work

Pinstripe huffed, moving away to climb up on the bed, burrowing under the blankets.

* * *

Downstairs, there was a click of a lock as the front door swung upon, three figures shuffling inside in seek of shelter from the harsh snow.

"Whoo," Eric exclaimed, shaking his hair clean of ice and frost. "Dun wanna get caugh' in tha' again!"

"Indeed." William agreed, removing his glasses for cleaning. "That was quite the nightmare to drive though - I still have no idea what convinced me to let you drive..."

Eric grinned, shifting an armful of cooked turkey and duck. Not having enough oven space in the house, the three had gone to use Eric and Alan's kitchen to help cook their meal.

"Awwww, I only got us in the ditch once~!"

Ronald sighed, "Twice. Only one was a deep ditch." He corrected.

"Da!" Snake left Joker's arms, pulling him along to greet Eric, a large grin on his usually shy face. His snake Emily coiled around his shoulders.

A grin of his own flashed upon Eric's ruddy face.

"Snakie!"

Shoving (purposefully) the food into William's arms, much to the man's protest, the werelion swooped in to pull his adoptive son into a warm hug. Joker chuckled, watching the display with amusement, tugging at the rather festive sweater Alan had given him.

Snake hugged him and smiled up at him, "J-Joker and I have special news…" he stuttered slightly, still not used to speaking on his own, even though he had been getting better at it for years.

"Hm?" Eric glanced down at Snake, blinking in surprise. "Wha' is it?"

"Baby." Snake smiled, looking down at his belly, his hands resting on the hint of a baby bump that lay under his sweater.

"Really?! Are ya serious?" Eric asked, his eyes shining with happiness, hands tightly gripping Snake's shoulders. "That's wonderful, Snakie!"

He enveloped the man into another hug; William's eye twitched.

"How is it you are excited here, but dismissing with us?"

"Tha's different... Ron's m' baby boy, an' yer the ass tha' broke his heart!"

"Dad! He's my husband. He only hurt me that one time over a misunderstanding!" Ron crossed his arms, "Its not fair every time I get pregnant you chase Will around with your scythe, but Snake and Joker get hugs!"

Snake blushed, "…Sorry…." He muttered.

"Ah, it ain' yer fault, Snakie. Da's jus' bein' an old fart." Eric stated with a grin, pulling him and Ronald into a shared embrace.

William shook his head, a faint smile twisting his mouth as he headed for the kitchen.

Ronald smiled, hugging Snake, "Will and I were just giving Dad a hard time. No need to be sorry for starting your own family. It's a happy thing to have a baby."

At that moment, the back door slammed, two pairs of feet running across the floor as voices called out in joy.

"Mommy, Grandpa!"

"Daddy! Big Brother! You're home!"

Throwing themselves at the group, Richard wrapped himself around Eric's leg, while Rachel clung to her brother's chest.

"Did you get the turkey?" she asked

Ronald picked up his sister, hugging her and spinning her in a circle, "Gobble, gobble!" He said, making her giggle, "Yeah, William just took them into the kitchen for Mom and the others to cook for dinner."

"Yum yum!" she giggled, as Eric lifted Richard up over his shoulder like a potato sack.

"Found desert!" the Scotsman joked.

"Mommyyy! Don't let Gwampa eat meeee!" The boy giggled.

"No eating my son, _grandpa_." Ronald giggled.

"Awww, but why not, _Mrs_. Spears?" Eric smirked.

"…Funny, dad, I didn't think you had two daughters." Ron rolled his eyes, "I'm so behind on learning girly things. Maybe I should get Kai to help me with a makeover."

"But Kai doesn't have his make up case right now - Briella gave it to Sebastian!" Rachel piped up.

"…Oh dear…" Ronald frowned, "Is he okay, or is he sulking and being anti-social?"

"Ummm..." Rachel looked to her cousin, her best friend.

Ronald sighed and handed his sister over to their father, "I'll go check on him…He's been so withdrawn lately…"

"'Ere, I'll come by once I get these two monkeys ta stop drippin' on the floor!" Eric called after his son, spinning his laughing daughter and grandson around.

"If you make a mess, dad, you're cleaning it up! I spent days getting this place clean for the holidays!" Ronald called over his shoulder as he mounted the steps.

Eric sniggered, carrying his grandchildren into the kitchen.

* * *

Upstairs, Kai sighed, flopping backward onto his bed as he silently mourned the loss of his rather expensive make up.

Pinstripe, noting his change in mood, waddled over to sniff his face. Kai managed a smile, letting the skunk crawl onto his chest.

"Kai-Kai? Sweetie, are you in there?" Ronald's voice drifted through the door after a firm knock.

The boy glanced up.

"...Yeah, I'm in, Mama."

Ronald slipped into the room, sighing when he saw the boy on his bed. "…Are you okay, sweetie?"

"...Bri gave Sebastian my make up kit." he mumbled, paying more attention to his skunk rather than his mother.

"I heard…what's the damage?" Ron asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling his fingers through his son's soft dark hair.

"Three lipsticks, two sets of eyeshadow, a blush, and my favorite mascara..." the boy sighed, silently cursing over the cost for replacing every single piece.

"Baby, come here." Ron pulled the boy up into his arms, "We can replace them all, you know that, right?"

The boy sighed, shifting his mother's arms.

"That's not the point..." he murmured almost too quietly.

Pinstripe peeked up at Ronald, licking his chin in curiosity.

"…Do you want to tell me what's really been bothering you these past few months, my beautiful boy?"

Kai fidgeted slightly.

"Mom... Do I have to be a Reaper?" he asked after a moment's hesitance.

"Kai…you _are_ a reaper, Love…just like your daddy and sister, brother and I…"

"No, I mean... Job... wise." Kai adverted his eyes, knowing all too well where this conversation was headed.

Ronald sighed, "Not every reaper is strong enough for being part of Dispatch and Collections. It's why we are always so short on staff…"

"I know..." Kai repressed a sigh of his own. "But... What if, I had second thoughts about working for the Dispatch? I mean, not every Reaper works for them, right?"

"Everyone who is able to, does…until they retire like your great grandfather."

"Well... what about restaurant owners? Or even nurses?"

"They are reapers unable to be Dispatch reapers… Sweetie, remember when you were twelve? The big test you and your classmates had to take? That was testing you al for the ability to properly wield a scythe. You and your sister passed and was put into classes to ready you for it. Most other students were put into classes for other careers. It may not seem fair…I hadn't wanted to go into Dispatch either at first…I wanted to choose something with less paperwork involved…but that doesn't mean we have to be with Dispatch for all time…once we earn the right to retire, we can be whatever we want…like Great Grandfather's job of being an undertaker. It's what he enjoys. Your aunt Grell plans to be a seamstress and design his own clothing line. Working Dispatch isn't so bad, hun."

"I know..." Kai sighed, his heart sinking; he'd had the feeling the conversation wouldn't go the way he'd wanted it.

It had been the same ever since he'd found out the future careers chosen for him and his sister; officers of the London Dispatch, working alongside his mother and father. As a child, all he'd ever dreamed about was being up on stage - ever since he'd seen his Aunt Grell perform in a play at the local theater. The excitement and joy he'd felt, seeing the performances on stage - he'd wanted to do that too! Even more after he found a loving for singing - he had a good voice, and a natural talent, his Aunt had said so.

But all those dreams came crashing down a couple of months ago; no more singing, no more dreams. Just office space and paperwork for the next few-hundred years. Even his Aunt Grell, whom he'd tried to go to for support, saw nothing wrong with the exchange - but then again, Grell loved his job.

In the end, he was alone; it made him sad.

"Come on, lets go back down. It's Christmas. Even if it's crowded and loud…they are our family."

Kai nodded, allowing his mother to help him up.

"Can Pinstripe have some duck?"

"He's your pet, love. You're old enough to know what he can have." He nodded.

"I know, just asking permission... Grandma wasn't happy at Thanksgiving after all." the boy said with a shrug, moving to replace Pinstripe's bow with a rather festive collar, singing to himself. "Truth to nothing but lies, cannot compromise, until you've become tot-a-lly undone~"

"Your grandmother isn't your mother. I am. I'll handle my mom about the feeding of the pets. Come on, I know what'll get a smile on your face. Lets break out the piano and sing some carols?"

Kai managed a smile, picking his skunk back up off the dresser, nodding to his mother. "Yeah... Let's."

"That's my boy." Ron slipped his arms around Kai's shoulder, guiding him to the door, "I'll have your dad replace what got ruined. Make up a list of what you lost with all the correct colors, and we'll make sure you get them. Just…spend the rest of this hectic day down with the family."

Kai nodded again, slipping downstairs with his mother, the family already sitting around the joined dinning room and kitchen tables. At the corner of the table, her cheeks rosy red from the cold and curly blond hair tied back, sat Kai's sister.

"Go on and find your seat, love." Ronald smiled, kissing his temple and walking over to take the seat William had saved for him.

Kai sighed, walking over and sitting in the seat between Snake and his twin, "Not cool, Bri." He hissed under his breath.

"What?" the girl said with faux surprise. "Why doth thou accuse me, brother dearest?"

"Because you do it all the time!"

Briella, in all her damnedest efforts, tried to keep a straight face. Alas, it was futile, and a small giggle of laughter escaped past her lips.

"…Bri…do you hate me?" Kai asked in a low voice, "You're always doing things you know will upset me…"

"Well, duh." Briella stated, rolling her eyes. "I'm yer sister, Kai - 's my job!"

Rachel giggled, watching as Richard aimed a spoonful of peas at his brother.

Kai looked down. Of course she'd say that, even though his question was completely serious… He flinched as three peas hit his cheek. "Hey!"

"Richard, baby, no throwing food." Ronald scolded lightly.

Richard sniggered, Rachel giggling behind her hand in followed suite. Briella smirked, sneakily flicking a piece of tomato at her brother.

"You three—listen to your mother. No throwing food." Alan said firmly from beside Eric who was carving the turkey and dishing it out onto everyone's plate.

"I didn't throw anything!" Kai protested.

"Unless it's pie." Eric joked with a grin, dodging a swat from his mother.

"Come on, lets try to have a nice dinner." Alan said, "Or no gift opening tonight."

Rachel clamped up, as did Richard, both unwilling to sacrifice the joys of opening presents in favor of tormenting each other.

Eric carved the last bit of turkey, separating it out onto the serving plater before handing it off to Alan, kissing his cheek.

"Ewwwww, Daddy/Grandpa is givin' Mommy/Grandma cooties!" the two shuttered.

"I'm immune to his cooties." Alan chuckled.

The children merely giggled, wasting not another moment to dig into their dinners.

* * *

That evening, Everyone settled into their beds late. Everyone sharing their rooms and beds as the weather had prevented everyone from going home. Alan sighed, slipping into his son's and William's master bed which had been given to he and Eric while the couple had moved onto a blow-up mattress in Kai's room, Richard opting to give up his bed to snuggle in between his parents.

"I'm worried," The brunet stated, scooting over close to his husband.

"Hm?" Eric glanced over, lifting his arm to allow the brunet to cuddle against his right side, Rachel curled up asleep on his left, "'Bout wha', love?"

"Kai-bear…" he muttered, reaching over to tuck their daughter in, the little girl already fast asleep.

Rachel moaned softly, rolling over to find her mother's hand and clutch it in her sleep.

"Mama..."

Eric glanced at his husband, nodding with a sigh. "Same 'ere..."

Alan nodded, "He's not like Ronald was at his age…and he's been getting more withdrawn into himself as time goes on…"

"I've been noticin'... More sullen an' depressed. 'E looks like I used ta a'..." Eric trailed off, hesitant to speak of his time at the circus - it was done, and in the past, but the memories of almost loosing Alan were too painful. "Either way, did ya see how 'e looked a' dinner? Like the world had come crashin' down on 'im."

The brunet nodded, "He won't talk to anyone, either…I tried to do so when he and I were cleaning the dishes…"

"I'll try talkin' ta 'im t'morrow-"

"Is Kai-kai sad?"

Rachel glanced up at her parents, a worried expression marring her face.

"You should be sleeping, baby." Alan said, kissing her forehead.

"You an' Daddy were talkin' loud." the girl said, rubbing her eyes as she made to crawl over her father and nestle between both parents. Is Kai hurtin'?"

"…Don't worry about it, love. We are sorry for waking you."

"But-"

"'S nothin' ta worry 'bout, sweetheart. Now, it's a full moon tomorrow, an' you an' I need our sleep" Eric said, stroking her hair.

She semi pouted, but turned to cuddle against her mother, her eyes fluttering closed.

"That's my girl." Alan kissed her hair, settling back down and hugging their daughter.

Eric sighed, slipping down to embrace his husband and daughter. "I jus' hope Kai's alrigh'..."

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

Kai sat frozen in his seat at the back of the classroom, his grade report clenched tightly within both hands. The paper crumpling slightly.

Don't cry…don't cry…

He had failed…he couldn't even pass simple quizzes…how was he supposed to hope to survive the Final exam? The rest of the class was all passing just fine…it was only Kai being left behind…he wasn't cut out for this…

The great-grandson of the Legendary Reaper Vincent "Undertaker"…the oldest son of The supervisor of the whole of England's Dispatch and the infamous Ronald Knox; savior of the whole damned realms of reapers and Humans alike…couldn't even get good grades.

The lowest scores possible lined the bottom of the report card, emphasizing what a failure he was…

Tears stung his eyes and he grit his teeth, wishing it all away. He couldn't do it! Even with study help, he failed! How could he even go home to face his family?

"Fuckin' yes, I passed!" Briella cheered from the middle, the rest of the class laughing from their seats.

She grinned, flourishing her test like a prized medal.

"SEE THIS?! FRIGGIN' AAA IN TACTICS! A in ethnics and written is fine, BUT DAMN!"

Kai flinched, and blinked back his tears, forcing a smile to his face, "Congrats, sis."

Briella grinned, dancing over to her brother in joy, landing with a bang on his desk.

"Well? How'd ya do?" she asked, reaching to grab his paper.

Kai yanked the paper to his chest to keep it from her, "…Not as good as you…" he mumbled, looking down at the desktop. The pink Lolita-style bow he'd put in his hair that morning draping it's long ribbons down his cheeks.

Briella frowned, then sighed.

"Kai..." she reached out, fingering his hair. "Jus' because your marks are a little lower than mine dun mean tha' yer any less of a Reaper... Remember what Dad said? He almost failed once - can you believe it? Failing!"

Kai flinched and slammed his test scores down on the table as he stood up. He stared hard at his twin sister before turning and running out of the classroom and tearing down the hall.

Briella frowned, her brow furrowing as she reached over and picked up the piece of crumple test paper on the desk. Holding it up, she skimmed it over; her eyes widened.

He couldn't go home…he just couldn't! He couldn't face disappointing his family. He hurried to his locker and opened it, pulling out his bag and scooping up Pinstripe who had stowed away with him that morning – like he did at least twice a week. "We're leaving, Pinstripe…we can't go home…" he cried. "And fast, before Bri comes…"

Pinstripe glanced at him, blinking his beady eyes in confusion.

* * *

Briella cursed, storming out of the classroom and down the hall, just in time to spot Kai rounding the corner. With a growl, she took off after him, adamant on catching him and having a very long, stern talk.

Hearing footsteps, Kai sped up, ducking into a crowded hall of younger students on their way to their next classes and disappearing in the crowd.

Briella chased him, up until she came upon the hallway. Seeing the sea of students, and therefore no sign of brother, she swore loudly. Heads turned, and eyes stared, but she paid no heed, moving to the office instead.

A phone call was to be made.

* * *

Ronald sighed, leaning back in his office chair, "Too much bloody paperwork today…" he complained, pausing when his phone rang. "…Better not be more paperwork-related news…" he mumbled, picking it up and holding it to his ear, "London Dispatch, Officer Knox speaking."

"Mom?"

"Briella?" Ron sighed, "You didn't get into trouble again, did you?"

"Mom, we have a problem" Briella said again, her voice calm yet laced with underlining anger and frustration.

"…Did you get into another fight?" he sighed, "Bri, I have too much work to keep going down there to talk to your teachers."

"Mom... It's not me" Briella swallowed thickly, her accent thickening. "Kai's failin', Mam..."

Ronald was silent a moment as it sank in, "…What? Put him on the line!"

"Tha's another problem... 'E's no' 'ere" she admitted. "E ran oof, an' I lost 'im in a crood..."

"Ella, baby, calm down—you're picking up your grandfather's accent again." Ron soothed, "I'll be right there, wait for me in the office."

"Okay..." Briella hung up with a sigh, flopping down into one of three chairs by the phone.

The secretary glanced over, giving her a sympathetic glance.

Ronald hung up and grabbed his jacket, rushing out and shouting at a secretary to get someone to cover his collections.

Fifteen minuets later, he arrived at the school, rushing into the office.

"Mom" Briella stood, shakily staggering over to her mother, embracing him.

"Baby…you haven't seen Kai? What happened exactly?"

The girl took a deep breath, reaching into her pocket to extract the crumbled up test.

Ronald sat down, pulling his daughter onto his knee, "Test scores?"

She nodded, unraveling the paper and handing it to her mother.

Ronald took it and scanned over it, frowning, "…He scored this low on…everything?"

"Read the bottom comments..."

"…I did…Bri, did he say anything to you? He studied so hard for this test…William was helping him, too…"

"Only that he got lower marks than me..." she muttered. "I told him it was no big deal, but when I mentioned that Dad almost failed school..." She sighed, "He got upset and took off."

"…Come on, let's go find him. We'll start looking at Grandma's house…remember when he was younger and was upset, he'd run to my mother for comfort?"

* * *

Eric purred, resting half against his lover, bathing him in a flourish of 'kisses' and nuzzles. His fur fluffed with contentment, eyes half lidded in a lazy state; small growls and mewls coming from the floor as Rachel, at least twice his size, made to play with Alan's pant leg, Eric's tail curled around the latter like a snake.

"Eric—I'm trying to watch the news!" Alan protested, hating that the full moon had already changed his family. Eric had managed to learn to control his werecat form, but he tended to try and be a lap-cat all too often, and Alan was unable to do anything with a lion hanging off him.

The lion mewled, pressing his cold nose to Alan's cheek. Rachel glanced up, purring as she thrusted her head into her mother's lap. A few feet away, the TV announcer droned on, featuring a report on what appeared to be another Godzilla hoax in Tokyo.

Suddenly, the report stopped, a female newscaster standing before a map.

"We interrupt this program to bring you an important news bulletin."

"Eric, really, that's a Reaper reporter." Alan insisted, pushing the lion to the side and leaning forward. Reaper special reports were always important.

Eric paused, moving to sit beside his lover with curiosity.

"A recent scan of the area has shown small amounts of activity in forbidden area 3776-"

She gestured to the map, showing an area that looked exact like-

"…Isn't that Timberdale?" Alan mumbled.

Eric growled softly, agreeing. Rachel glanced up, giving her mother a curious mew.

Alan shook his head, scratching his daughter behind the ear, "Long story, sweetie."

She purred, blissfully unaware as the news caster continued.

"Officials are uncertain as to why there is activity, the area residing around the small town of Timberdale having been void of life since it's destruction due to plague in 1753. Timberdale was once inhabited by a small clan of Reapers, but they too were believed to have died off. However, two years ago, two children reportedly entered the forbidden zone and encountered what they call 'zombified monsters' - officials dismiss this as a hoax, aside from one except; a 'zombie' that seemed to have survived the plague-"

Rachel whined and hid her face in her mother's hand; she did not like zombies, at all. Not even movies of them; every Halloween when a zombie movie came on, she would avoid the TV and hide upstairs until it was over.

"Shh, it's okay, baby." Alan soothed her, keeping an ear on the TV.

"The current 'zombie' resides in the London Dispatch Laboratory-"

The screen shifted to show a figure sitting in a cell, held under lock and key, tied up in a straight jacket.

"-Where scientists are working in attempt to reverse the zombificiation, if that is what it is. They believe that having a source would lead them to truly discovering what happened in Timberdale."

Alan shook his head, "They should have investigated the area after William and Ronald went to the authorities about it… One of the reapers followed Kai and Briella back here—that's proof enough that they'd be telling the truth of others."

"But today, officials were shocked to find small amounts of activity on the radar from the old town. Now, while this is a surprise, we are being told it is nothing to worry about. According to authorities, the activity most likely implies trespassing upon the forbidden area. If you see or hear any suspicious information, alert authorities immediately."

"Bull." Alan pushed himself up and walked over to grab his cell phone, "I'm going to bring this up with William…he can order a real investigation of it." He mumbled to himself as he searched for William's office number.

Eric watched him, blinking slowly.

Before Alan could hit send, there was the sound of the doorbell. He sighed and set down the phone, walking over to answer the door.

Eric paused, nose twitching as a familiar scent arose. Jumping up, he bolted, almost knocking Alan to his back as he raced towards the door, pawing at the knob.

"Eric!" Alan scolded, "Stop acting like a pet, or I'll start treating you as one!" he pushed the large cat out of the way with his foot and opened the door.

Eric roared in protest, trying to poke his head from around Alan's legs as Briella stepped closer with her mother.

"Grandma..."

"Bri, Ronnie, this is a surprise—is something wrong?"

"Mom, is Kai here?" Ronald asked.

"No…shouldn't he be at school?"

Briella was silently, almost shamefully, glancing over at her mother. Eric frowned, as best he could with a muzzle and a heap of fur coat, pushing past to gaze at his granddaughter and son.

"…Kai ran off…" Ronald said, "He failed his tests this week…completely, got upset and ran off…Bri called me at work…we thought he'd come here?" Ronald was getting more and more worried by the second.

"We haven't seen him." Alan shook his head.

Eric growled again, managing to fully shove past Alan, stepping out onto the porch to stare hard at his son, eyes all serious.

"What? Don't look at me like that, dad! I'm worried sick that he's not here!" Ron insisted, "I mean, this is where he goes when he's upset—he comes to Mum for comfort and snacks!"

Eric growled in frustration, nudging Ronald's hand with his snout, trying to get his point across - he was worried, too. Sitting around wasn't going to help either.

"Dad I—where did my baby go?" Ronald fell to his knees and hugged his father, face buried in his mane.

"…Go look for him. I'll call William to let him know, and I'll pick up Richard from school for you in an hour when he gets out." Alan suggested, "Bri, come inside."

Briella nodded, shuffling inside, "We looked at home on our way here, Great Grandpa's, Joker's... even called Great Grandma... Nothing..."

Eric glanced at his son again, nuzzling him.

"Dad…come with me? You may be able to smell him…"

Eric nodded, lowering himself to the ground.

Ronald climbed onto Eric's back, gripping his mane, "Lets go."

Eric let out a roar, bolting out and down the street. Paws pounded the pavement, the beast snorting out clouds of steam like smoke.

* * *

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

In the heart of a small town, located in the depths of a thick forest, something stirred. Resting hunched over in the bowels of an old office, the walls crumbled and covered with mold, a figure sat still and patient upon a landing. A low groan escaped, as bones shifted and muscles throbbed, an eerie glow residing from the pit of the chest. Suddenly, a scream sounded, as squelches and grotesque rips arose, skin beginning to stretch and grow as limbs shifted and the body struggled to adapt. The figure, a man long thought deceased, panted, waiting anxious for the final process to complete.

The undead glanced down, watching as his once torn arm mended itself, bone and flesh coming together, almost as unmarred as it had been many years before. Slowly, more pieces came together, and as his torso mended, he let out a sharp gasp. A thump sounded, his chest heaving - his heart, rusted and old, was beating. His lungs, dusty and withered, swelled with every breath. Eyes once rotted away, grew back, new and bright as they had been the day he was born.

Within the span of fifteen minutes, what had once been a walking corpse was now a full grown man of good health.

Red hair and a beard in need of trimming, ragged clothes and covered in grime - but alive nonetheless. Yes, alive; he rasped, a small chuckle bubbling from the pit of his throat. He was alive, breathing with a beating heart - oh, how long he had wasted away for this very moment. To feel, think and exist once again - it was almost overwhelming.

Yet, with life came the consequences.

In the midst of his joy, he felt it - the unsatisfied gnawing of hunger in the pit of his stomach. The ache and need for food, his body having been starved for over three hundred years. Yet, though it was food he needed, he desired something else.

The cold, sweet taste of revenge.

But not yet - recovery was still underway, and he had more than an irking that they were being monitored.

His mind recalled an incident three years before when two lost children entered their tomb. A smile curved his lips.

Then he heard, the sound of screams amongst bones shifting and muscles distorting, far below in the mines; the others were awakening, slowly making their way to the surface.

Standing, he sighed in relief, his spine straightening for the first time in decades, and moved to a small section of the landing. Hidden in a corner at the side of a desk, a makeshift nest, two small lumps huddled beneath the blanket. He stopped and knelt before them, voice husky and coarse.

"My children... awaken. Morning has come..."

* * *

Ronald rode his father as if he were a steed, searching with no luck through the night. Kai had hidden himself well…and it scared Ronald more with each passing moment. He needed to find his baby boy…tell him that it was okay…comfort him…

Under him, Ronald could feel Eric's bones shift strangely, and they stumbled, falling into a ditch as Eric began to change back. They had run out of time—for Eric's werelion form, that was, as the lion shrank down into the nude form of a man.

The Scotsman groaned, lifting his head to spit out a mouthful of dirt.

"Dammit..."

"Here," Ronald pulled off his suit jacket and handed it to his father, "Can't have you streaking all the way home."

Eric nodded, taking the coat and wrapping around his waist.

"No sign o' 'im..." he sighed. "All damn nigh', all 'round damn town an' no sightin's..."

Ron bit his lip, "…What if something happened to him? What if he's hurt? Or someone snatched him up? He's so cute and meek…"

"If tha' happened, so help me, I will find the asshole an' rip 'is gizzard out." Eric growled. "No one manhandles wee Kai!"

He struggled to his feet, trembling. "Dammit... I hate this. I'm sorry Ron."

Ron took a shaky breath, "I want my baby back safe in my arms…I want to keep all three of my babies safe in my arms and one's missing…"

"Know the feelin'."Eric said, moving to watch the rising sun. 'When ya become a mother 'r father, ya wanna protect yer kids with yer life."

"…At least I never ran away…" Ron mumbled, "I just argued with you like crazy…"

"Ya... But ya ran off with yer heart ta Spears..." Eric pointed out. "Tha' was different though... should anythin' happen ta ya 'r Rachel, I dun know wha' I would do."

"I got married, dad, I didn't leave you and Mum…" He sighed, "…Lets go home…we need rest, and I'm sure Will has the authorities on the case while we take a break… Plus its snowy and you are naked."

"Dun worry 'bout me, worry bout Kai..." Eric shook his head, trudging through the snow. "If anyone asks, I'm a stripper on call."

"I am worried about Kai…There's no way I can't be worried…and I'm not telling people that my father is a stripper."

"Why not?" Eric said, scowling as a car drove by and honked. "Fuck ya, it's m' job!"

The car stopped, starting to back up; Eric paled.

"Fuck."

"Because you're my dad and Mum would put you on the couch for a month if you make people think he's married to a stripper!" Ron said, continuing to walk.

"A little late for that." Eric said, watching as the car came up to his side.

The window on the drive's side opened, a man poking his head out.

"Hey, buddy! Put some goddamn pants on, will ya?! Some of us have kids!"

Eric frowned.

"So? So do I-"

"Will you turn around, for fuck's sakes, I don't need my daughters seeing your junk!"

Eric raised an eyebrow.

"Then why did ya drive up ta me?"

"Because while I happen to driving, I see this naked man at the side of the road. Then my daughter suddenly says to me, 'Daddy, why does he have no clothes on?' "

Eric cast his eyes to the back seat, seeing a small toddler and two school aged girls.

"Daddy why is he naked?" the toddler piped up; Eric blanched.

"Don't worry about him, honey. Just a hobo" the father responded.

Eric frowned and said, "Excuse me, I ain' no hobo."

The man shrugged. "Well, you certainly seem like one going around stark naked-"

"Least I ain' a shit mouth!" Eric growled. "Surprised yer kids ain' run aground with lip as it is."

The man glared. "I don't need your lip, gorilla."

"Dad," Ron turned around and grabbed his shoulder, come on, ignore him and hurry home." He looked at the man in the car, "My father was mugged, and he's not exposed, he's covered so just drive on and stop trying to give your children an eyeful of a man you know nothing about."

"Will do... would rather not expose my kids to an eyesore. the man growled.

"Eyesore? A' least I'm somethin' ta look a'!" Eric growled.

"What, by running around naked!"

"Screw ya, I'm more of a man than ya'll ever be!"

"Doesn't show it, I'll be I've had more runs than you in a lifetime!"

"I'm older than I look, laddie... An' I've gotten more than m' fair share, which is a dream compared ta ya." Eric snarled.

"I once drank twelve men under a table!" his opponent snapped.

"I've smoked six packs o' cigars in one sittin'!"

"I've won tournament cricket matches!"

"An' I've beaten down people with the bat!"

"I operated on someone!"

"Fuck ya, I birthed a baby!"

There was complete and utter silence; the man gawked at Eric, his jaw gap and his eyes wide. His children looked terrified, eyes flickering back and forth between their father and this stranger outside their car. Eric frowned, about to speak again when he realized his mistake.

Humans.

"Your crazy... first that kid with the skunk now you..." the man said.

"Kid with a skunk?!" Ronald spun around and gripped the car's open window, "Where?! Where did you see my baby boy?" he gasped, not caring if the human thought it was odd a man who looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old was claiming to be the parent of a boy nearly that same age.

"Get the hell off of my car!" the man yelled, his hands gripping the steering wheel.

"LOOK!" Ron snapped, "I don't care if ya think my father is a nudist! But my son is missing and he has a pet skunk. If you saw him…" he looked back at the kids in the back seat, "-You are a parent yourself—wouldn't you want someone to help you if one of your children was missing? Please."

"Look, I just saw him run across the road in a small town back there-" he gestured to a sign, showing a town 10 kilometres away.

"Kai." Ron turned in that direction, "Dad, you go home, I'm going after Kai." He said, taking off running.

"Oi!" Eric called out, chasing after Ronald as the car sped off in haste. "Dun think I'm not comin' with ya!"

"Go get clothes! You'll get sick and cause more scenes!"

"I said dun worry 'bout me! Righ' now, all tha' matters is bringin' Kai home!"

"I am!" He shouted over his shoulder as he took to the roofs so he could avoid crowds.

Eric slowed to a stop, watching his son speed away. "I'll come find ya afterwards!" he called out, moving to portal back home.

Ron didn't respond, disappearing on his search for Kai. He wouldn't stop until he found him!

* * *

Kai shivered, huddled in the shadows of a rooftop chimney, eyes trained on the small market bustling with life down below. Children ran about the streets, playing hooky or being mischievous around the many shop stalls. Men and women tended to their own business, selling wares and bargaining with shop owners. A fisherman strode past, a nest filled to the brim with freshly caught cod on proud display, attracting a small herd of hungry cats.

The boy sighed, burying his face in his arms, trying to ignore the hungry growls of his stomach. Pinstripe, too, growled, pawing at his owner for food.

"…Kai!" The boy heard his name on the wind in the distance, "Kai!"

He knew that voice riddled with worry…his mother?

"KAI!"

Ron's shouts were getting closer and soon the boy spotted his mother leaping from roof to roof in search.

"Shit!"

Kai scooped up Pinstripe, shifting to hide further in the shadows.

"Kai! Baby, where are you?" Ron called out, looking down at the streets. "…Baby…"

Kai bit his lip, closing his eyes, hoping to remain hidden and that his mother would leave.

Pinstripe squeaked out when his tail got squished between his owner's body and the bricks. And Ronald spun around, spotting the boy.

"Kai! Oh thank Rhea!" Ronald ran over to his son.

Kai gasped, eyes snapping open as he scrambled to his feet, struggling to get as far away from his mother before-

"Kai—no! Please! Just—just come home with me, please!" Ronald cried out, reaching out for his son.

Kai bit his lip, pushing himself to run faster.

He couldn't - wouldn't - go back and face disappointment.

Ronald reached out, catching his son and bringing him into a tight hug. "Please…please don't run from me, Kai-Kai…" he cried.

Kai struggled, trying to break free. Then he stopped, going still.

"Please... just let me go, Mama..."

Ron buried his face in his son's hair, "Baby…why?"

"I'm not a Reaper, Mom... I never will be. I-I'm just not cut out for it-"

"I don't care about that test score!" Ronald insisted, refusing to let go of his baby, "Just—just come home…"

But Kai shook his head, remembering the conversation he had had at Christmas. Part of him originally ran to escape punishment over the test - but now, something was preventing his need to return home.

"No, Mom... I can't..."

"Please." Ronald felt tears in his eyes at the thought of letting his baby go, "Kai, please…come home…"

Kai bit his lip, seeing no other way.

"I'm sorry, Mom..."

He poked Pinstripe, the skunk squeaking before chomping down on Ronald's hand.

Ronald cried out, yanking his bleeding hand back and Kai took off running again.

"No! No, Kai!" Ronald cried out, taking chase in a panic. "Baby—please!"

Kai moved fast, taking more twists and turns to throw his mother off.

"KAI! PLEASE! Come home—your father and I can't loose you!" Ron pleaded.

But Kai kept running, speeding up until he reached the end of the maze of roofs, the sea rolling down below. He glanced down at the churning waters, then at his mother; he held Pinstripe tight.

Then, closing his eyes, he stepped off the edge, tucking his body in to protect his skunk as he fell down into the sea and was washed away.

"KAI!" Ronald dove in after him without hesitation, disappearing under the surface of the icy waters of the bay. He swam deeper, looking around for his son, spotting nothing. No boy, no skunk…just a—

His eyes widened. The glow of a portal shown in the waters below him, closing fast. He sped up his swimming, trying to reach it before it was too late, stretching out and—

It closed. Gone and leaving Ronald in the dark waters still only feet above where it had been.

Kai…was gone.

* * *

Eric cursed, jumping from roof to roof in search for his son and grandson. "RON! KAI! WHERE ARE YA?!" he called out, perching on top of a chimney.

Ronald was below, slowly walking along the road, shivering and dripping sea water. His movements stiff. He'd lost him…Kai had left him…he'd failed to bring him home safe…

Was he a bad mother?

Spotting his son, Eric breathed a sigh of relief, swooping down to his side.

"Ron?! Wha' the 'ell happened ta ya, lad?" he exclaimed, taking his son by the shoulder. "Did you find Kai?"

"H-he was in my arms…" Ronald trembled, not looking up as tears fell, "He was right here and…then he was gone…he wouldn't come home with me…"

"Wha'?!" Eric stared at him, tilting his head up. "Whaddya mean?"

Ronald fell to his hands and knees, "I'm a horrible mother! H—he won't come home! H-He portaled away someplace when I found him!"

"WHa'?!" Eric knelt down, gently placing a hand on Ronald's back. "Ron..."

Pulling the boy into his arms, he rested him against his broad chest, preparing a portal for two.

"Why…why won't he come home? I—I even told him I didn't care about his test…He…am I that horrible a mother?" He sobbed into his father's shirt. "D-Daddy…"

"Shhh... 'S gonna be alrigh', son. We'll find Kai, an' we'll brin' 'im home, I promise..."

He lifted his son up, carrying him through the portal.

* * *

It was close to evening when they finally made it home, Eric running up the steps of the porch to spam the doorbell. Ronald was shivering uncontrollably, his skin like ice and his breathing slowing. He needed to be heated back up quickly.

The door opened and Rachel stood there, staring wide-eyed up at her father and brother. "MUMMY! BIG BROTHER LOOKS SICK!"

Eric stepped inside, moving to get Ronald by the fireplace, staring to strip him of his wet clothes.

"What on earth happened?!" Alan gasped, grabbing a blanket and rushing over to his son to wrap it around him. "I'll go run him a hot bath." He added, rushing to the bathroom and turning on the hot water. "Baby, tell us when the tub is getting full."

"Kay, mummy!"

Eric finished removing the last of Ronald's clothes, his own slightly soaked from carrying the drenched boy home. Lifting him up, he sat on the couch, rocking him, desperately trying to warm him up.

"Eric—what happened? Where's Kai? Why is Ronald soaked and covered in ice?"

"Mummy! Da bath is full!"

"I'll explain in a sec, righ' now I need ta get Ron warmed and bedded." Eric said, rising from the couch to carry his son to the bathroom.

Inside, he slipped Ronald gently into the tub, stripping and climbing in behind him.

Alan crossed his arms, "Eric Slingby, I am his mother and I have the right to know why my baby is in his current state and to know what happened with my grandbaby."

Eric started rubbing Ronald's arms, trying to warm him up as he spoke.

"I went back ta search fer Ronnie an' Kai... Ron found 'im. But Kai escaped - he jumped inta the sea an' portaled away, an' Ron went after 'im, I think. I tried ta get Ron back as fast as I could-"

"So Kai's out freezing and icy someplace too?" Alan gasped, "Where did this happen?"

"Small fishin' town off the coast o' Dover... I dun remember the name. I just followed Ron's scent until I caught up."

Alan nodded, pulling out his phone and calling William who had also been out looking for Kai all day. Briella and Richard were staying over with their grandparents.

Eric sighed, scooping up some water and pouring over Ronald.

"Ron, baby? Feelin' better?"

Ronald's shivering eased slowly, and he nodded, his teeth chattering.

Eric smiled, rubbing his arms.

"'Ere, we'll get ya dressed an' in bed with a warm heating pad... ya need rest, son." he stroked the boy's hair.

"…My baby's still out there all alone…" he whispered.

"We'll find him…I just updated William on what happened and he's going to see if he can trace the portal if it's not too late." Alan said, walking back in, "And you'll stay here tonight. You have been searching for over twenty-four hours—you need your rest."

Eric nodded, moving to stand, water sloshing as his body emerged from the tub.

"Hand me a towel, Al?"

Alan tossed him a towel, stooping down to feel Ronald's forehead with the back of his fingers. "Still cold…stay here a bit longer, I'll lend you one of my warmer pajamas."

* * *

Down in the sitting room, Briella was laying on the sofa, her arm over her eyes. She felt guilty…as if it was all her fault her twin ran away…she had been flaunting her good grades and she had known Kai was sensitive to many things… Though she never would have guessed he was failing school…

There was a sudden knock upon the door, a silhouette sporting great wings hovering outside on the porch.

Bri slowly rolled off the sofa, walking over and opening the door to find Dagger. And for once, she didn't greet him with a wide smile and a hug. "Dagger..?"

Dagger nodded, his expression grim and worried. "I heard what happened... are you alright?"

"…It's my fault!" She burst our, throwing herself into his arms, "He ran away because of me!"

Dagger caught her, blinking slightly in surprise. "Whoa, hold on here. It's not your fault-"

"It is, though!" she shook her head, "He's always been sensitive and I was bragging!"

"Tha' doesn't mean it's yer fault! Look-" He tilted her chin up. "I know it seems tha' way, but he left because he couldn't face failure. Not because ye succeeded an' he didn't. Trust me, Bri-bri."

"I MADE HIM FEEL LIKE A FAILURE!" She insisted.

Dagger merely held her tighter, stroking her hair.

"Ye haven't; trust me when I say ye haven't! Briella, he's been like this fer a while - everyone's been seein' it!"

"…Everyone?" she looked down, "…I didn't see it…I didn't…and I'm his twin sister…"

He merely hushed her again, pressing soft lips to her forehead.

She took a deep breath, "…I'm a bad big sister… Dagger… what if I also make Richey run away? Mum was out all night and day looking for Kai-Kai, and he came back frozen. Grandma and Grandpa are tryin' ta get him warm again…an…an' my daddy is out looking still!"

"Briella, look at me," he tilted her head up. "Ye are not a bad sister - in fact, I'd say ye are a much better sister than most. Ye love yer family, always lookin' out fer them. Kai... Kai knows this too, but he's just upset for other reasons - not at you or tha' ye better him at times. We'll find him, I promise...

"Mmph." She shoved her face into his shoulder, hugging him tight and hiding her face.

"Briii! You're letting in da cold!" Richard called from the sitting room floor where he was playing with Rachel.

"It's chilly-chill in here!" Rachel yelped, shivering. "An' I don't even have my fur to keep me warm no more!"

Briella sighed and took Dagger's hand, guiding him in and closing the door.

Dagger strode by her side, his hand locked in hers, as they entered the living where the two children resided.

Rachel took one look at them and giggled. "Dagger an' Bri-bri sittin' in a twee!" she sang out loud.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Richard joined in.

"First comes wuv-"

"Den comes marriage!"

"Then comes Bri-bri with the baby carriage!" they finished.

"Shut up!" Bri flushed, "There's no way I'm having kids!"

Richard gasped, "She didn't deny da K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"In da twee!" Rachel nodded.

"Bri, what does K-I-S-S-I-N-G spell?"

"…Nothing." Briella lied.

"You lieeee!" Rachel teased, getting to her feet and running to the kitchen. "I'mma gonna ask Mummy what K-I-S-S-I-N-G spells!"

Briella groaned, "Come on, lets get away from the annoying little kids."

"Hey! MOMMY! BRI CALLED US ANNOYING!" Richard yelled, running to find Ronald.

She rolled her eyes, "Hurry." She pulled him along into one of the spare rooms, locking the door behind them.

Dagger chuckled, allowing himself to be dragged around the house, "Sure are a lively bunch." he teased. "Kinda reminds of Doll an' Smile when they were kids..." He fell silent for a moment. "Hey, Bri...?"

"Hmm?" She asked, making sure the door locked properly since the door was slightly warped and the latch didn't always catch.

"Were... you being serious though? You know... about the kids?"

"Mama said that each generation in our family can have kids easier. Reaper kids are rare pureblood-wise unless they came from purebloods themselves. I'm a fourth generation pureblood. I have dreams I want to achieve. I want to be the first female reaper to become a supervisor…and having kids would be a distraction."

"I-I see..." Dagger said, nodding slightly.

Briella bit her lip a moment, "…That doesn't mean no kids ever…just…not too soon…"

He nodded again, moving to hug her from behind.

"I wouldn't mind one or two, but ye are right. Build your dreams first, love."

She leaned back into him, "…We should tell my parents about us sometime…we're getting serious, after all…"

"Yeah... think your father will still neuter me when he finds out?"

"If mum doesn't get to you first…" She giggled, "But don't worry, I'll protect you~"

He chuckled.

"I know ye will... My beautiful dragoness~" he kissed the shell of her ear. "Hey, Bri..."

"Hmm~?" She hummed again, spinning around in his arms.

"I am having a small performance in a couple of weeks... I know it's not the best of times to ask, but would you think of attend? I have a surprise planned."

"Oh?" She slipped her arms around her boyfriend. True, she had met him when she was five, but they had been close friends since then, and once she was old enough to be interested in dating, their relationship had started to change and become more romantic. Though they behaved and never did anything together that would lead to trouble. She had been the one to make the first move, too.

"Of course I'll be there. Hopefully Kai will be back by then, though. I'd feel a little guilty having fun when he's missing."

"Of course." He smiled. "Joker would too - he loves being part of yer family. We all do."

"How's Snake and the baby, by the way?" she asked, sitting down on the bed.

"Doin' alright so far" Dagger grinned. "Blamin' Joker fer the mornin' sickness, of course."

She laughed, "Snake pregnant is just too cute. Grandpa's excited for the new baby."

"I can imagine" Dagger laughed. "Snake was his little baby for a short time, before he was forced to get pregnant by he-who-I-shall-not-speak of..."

"…They still wont explain what happened…I barely remember it, too…"

"Well... it's kind of a sensitive subject for your Grandmother and Grandfather - I admire them for survivin' as long as they did. But, ye do deserve to know... damn, if I had a photo album, it'd be easier to explain."

"It's okay." She sat down, "…I can make guesses… I mean, She's part tiger and Grandpa's a lion…and Grandma is a regular reaper, so…there was someone else involved…I remember Grandpa was gone a long time, too…"

"Yeah..." he sat down, ready to explain. "Yer Grandpa got mauled one night on a reap I guess by one o' the other werelion, who'd escaped. He survived, but has since been burdened by the curse. Anyways, he tried to hide it from yer family, to protect ye, but yer Grandmother became suspicious and thought him cheatin' or somethin'. Then yer mother tried to intervene and got attacked... and yer Grandfather was forced to run away in fear and shame fer what he had done...gets worse though.

"Guy treatin' yer mother was an old admirer of yer Grandmother... and he found out about your Grandfather's curse. I guess he was jealous or just overly possessive, because he started spreadin' bull about yer Grandfather - Eric was a wanted man, from what I could tell. Yer mother knew the truth but the guy - Alex - was a right bastard and did terrible things to yer mother. Made him fall mad almost. As fer Eric, well... Alex started workin' with our old boss, the old Ringmaster. He wanted Alan, and he need Eric gone - but that wasn't enough. He wanted Eric to suffer and see what he was loosing, slowly bit by bit.

"Asshole - I never saw a man more broken then I had before I met yer Grandfather. Spend so much time cryin' and sufferin' over loosin' his family - he really loves you guys. Yer his whole world - 'specially Alan. When Alex turned Alan against his own husband, Eric was heartbroken. I have no idea how he survived the pain, but it was horrible havin' to witness it.

"But still it wasn' enough. Alan still loved yer Grandfather, so Alex need more reason to tear them apart - so he attempted to enhance the cheatin' suspicion Alan had goin' on. He made a deal with the Ringmaster, and they placed Eric in the 'breedin' program' - a sick, fucked up means o' illegal baby farmin' and sellin'."

He sighed.

"I don't think I have to tell you that Alan isn't Rachel's mother... but I think there's one bit that's missin'... Eric isn't her father either."

"…That's creepy. Grandpa isn't the 'mommy' type guy!"

"I know... Was weird for him, too. He was paired up with another Reaper Weretiger - a Russian."

"…This guy…he's not going to ever try to take little Ray away from us, is he?"

"No, no... He's dead." Dagger admitted.

"…Oh…" she looked down.

"Died in a fire that consumed the circus... we were so afraid we almost lost Eric and yer mother. But they were safe - thanks to yer Great Grandmother. We found them up in Scotland about three weeks later, and Eric gave birth the night we arrived at Meredith's home by the Loch. By then, I think yer Grandmother and Grandfather made up - I just remember them cryin' and then kissin'. Still yer Grandfather took a while to heal physically and emotionally - spent a couple o' months at yer Great Grandmother's with Alan an' the baby recoverin'."

He glanced at her, "Everythin' alright?"

"…It's just…death is kinda sad." She looked up, "Funny how someone destined for a job like dispatch finds it sad, hu? We aren't supposed to let it affect us…"

Dagger chuckled, "Ye know... yer Grandmother says the exact same things."

"Grandma also retired and now plays babysitter every day." She pointed out.

"True... but he had a terminal disease at the time." Dagger said. "Yer gonna be an amazin' reaper, Bri - I know it."

"…yeah, Mum had it too…daddy has nightmares about it sometimes…he talks in his sleep about it." She flopped onto the bed.

Dagger flopped down beside her, his hand reaching out to stroke her face.

She sighed and turned to look at him, "…I miss Kai…"

"I know..." he murmured, fingers brushing over her cheek and jaw line, "We'll find him - I'll bet yer father's found him and is bringin' him home right now!"

"I hope so…" she rolled over and snuggled into his chest.

* * *

**To be continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

Kai sighed, reclining back and looking up at the sky, "What should we do, Pinstripe? Where should we go? We can't go home…especially now…can't stay here, either… And we'll need money…I need a job…maybe singing? It's all I can do…but where?"

Pinstripe growled, fluffing his fur as he waddled around the alleyway. He had not taken well to being submerged underwater and thus proceeded to be rather cross with his master.

"Awe, come on, don't be mad—it was all I could think of to do! Come here, I'll scratch your belly the way you love." He held out his hand.

The skunk pondered for a moment, then flicked his tail, waddling over to the boy and flopping over onto his back.

The boy smiled, stroking Pinstripe's belly a few times before lightly massaging it with his fingertips.

Pinstripe purred, waving his stubby legs in contentment.

"There you go…all better…and dry…"

Pinstripe swished his tail, perking up as the sound of laughter came from close by.

"I can't believe she's coming here!"

"Hmm?" Kai picked his pet up into his arms, still scratching his stomach as he walked towards the voices.

A group of teenagers, all about Kai's age, walking on their way to school. The one who spoke, a girl with turquoise knapsack, laughed.

"I mean, this is really big! Never has Lady Mira come to England before! It's always a tour in America or Canada, but never here!"

"I know!" another girl exclaimed. "Oooh, what I would give to see her perform in New York! It's the city where all the big names are!"

"Big…names?" Kai looked down at his pet, "Hey, want to see if we can make 'Kai Spears-Knox' into a big name, too?"

Pinstripe licked his cheek, giving a small grunt as if agreement.

"Come on, lets get in the next international portal to New York." He said, turning around.

Pinstripe gave him a look, as if to remind him of his current status in the Reaper realm and what was sure to happen if he came in contact with any watchful officers.

"I know—but we don't have the money to go there the mortal way…portals are free."

Pinstripe merely growled, burying his face into Kai's elbow.

"We'll get through…you'll see. I do have makeup with me and I know how to use it!"

The skunk fluffed his fur again, grunting.

"I do! You'll have to hide in my bag, though…they probably know I have you with me."

The skunk made no reaction, even as the boy placed him in his bag.

"Lets go." Kai smiled, hurrying off to a public restroom to apply makeup before heading to the international portal station.

* * *

The airport was crowded, Reapers rushing about in haste, clutching suitcases and the hands of children as the intercom rang and a voice announced the next upcoming flight to Japan.

Security was simple. Only rogue reapers couldn't travel freely without papers. All it took was a simple scan to get through.

Kai placed his hand on the scan, which brought up his results as 'clear for travel' and he was let through to the departing docs. He turned and headed towards the one marked for New York, New York.

"What I tell you? Easy." Kai smiled.

A growl came from inside his bag, Pinstripe clawing at the zipper in attempt to escape.

"Shh, not yet, Pin. I'll let you out once we get into New York. Won't be long."

Pinstripe lifted his tail, a lump forming in the bag as he attempted to 'spray' to show his disproval.

Kai sighed and waited near where the portal would open so he could hurry through. Ten minuets passed and finally the portal opened up and Kai was the first one through.

Once in Reaper New York, Kai unzipped his bag to let Pinstripe poke his head out again.

The skunk blinked, peering around curiously at the strange, new location. About ten times as many Reapers as before, rushing about at twice the speed as the groups back in the London port. Conversation filled the air, the accents odd and unfamiliar to anything the boy and skunk had witnessed before.

"I told the asshole to meet here at ten! Where the hell is he?!"

"Y'know, I'm kinda getting tired of wasting around - how 'bout we catch up after the game, yeah?"

"Hey, watch it, buddy!"

"…It's so loud…and it smells funny here…" Kai muttered, weaving through the crowds. "…Lets try to find our way to the mortal realm…"

Someone bumped into the boy, a loud voice yelling out, "Get out of the way, kid!" Then they stopped, turning to look at the boy. "Wait a minute..."

Kai looked up, biting his lip. He didn't recognize the man…but it didn't mean the man didn't recognize him…

"You're that kid - the one that went missing in England-"

"I…I think you are mistaken, sir."

"No...No, I'm sure of it! Kai Spea- HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

Kai turned and fled, hugging his bag that Pinstripe was in close as he weaved through the crowd. He was fairly short and it made it easy to duck under things.

The man cursed, chasing after him as best he could, though his own tall state and the immense crowds soon hindered him. Loosing sight of the teenager, he swore, coming to a stop. "Dammit!"

"Sir?" a security officer came wandering up. "Is there a problem?"

The man glanced at them for a moment.

"... Get me the line for Anthony DiCotta, New York Manhattan Dispatch supervisor!"

They blinked. "With all due respect, why is such call necessary?"

"Because..." he looked back at the crowed, "I think we found the missing Brit kid."

* * *

Kai didn't stop running until he was well into the mortal realm where it would be easier to blend in and hide from reapers. Out of breath, he gasped to catch it as he leaned against an alley wall and slid down it. "That was close…" He sighed, "You okay, Pin?"

Pinstripe poked his head out of the bag, ruffling his fur with a grunt.

"I'm sorry, boy." He scratched the skunk's chin, "We've been running a lot…but we can settle down someplace soon …"

The skunk purred, liking the idea of taking a rest, blinking as someone rode past on a bicycle.

"Come on, let's go." Kai said, walking off down the busy streets.

* * *

About a month passed, and still no sign of Kai Knox-Spears. A warrant had been issued out, demanding any information on the child to be reported to William and the authorities. So far, nothing had turned up and the family was loosing hope.

April arrived with a cold front, the icy winds and temperature spreading a chill about the Dispatch like wildfire. Left and right, Reapers were suddenly falling ill, coming into work with colds only to be sent home later for sneezing all over their paperwork. The loo was also crowded, men and women rushing in and out with spells of nausea and other extremities.

It was concerning enough that Reapers began taking precautions to ward off the sickness, only to catch it later when some careless fool coughed in their face.

Such incident happened to a one Eric Slingby, and now said Reaper was busy laying miserable and feverish in bed. The blond groaned, rolling over with a whimper, trying to cuddle against his husband.

However, Alan wasn't feeling all that great himself. He didn't work at dispatch any longer, but pressure was building in his head and his nose seemed stuffed up.

"Eric, you gave me whatever illness it is you caught…" He groaned.

"Sorry," Eric croaked, gluing himself to the man's side and wrapping him in an embrace. "I feel awful..."

"Don't give it to the kids…last thing we need right now is sick kids…" He rolled over and snuggled into him, his nose red with irritation.

Eric stomach churned audibly, and the man let out another whimper in protest. "Noooo... not now, I wanna sleep..."

"Not sleeping here if you're gonna be making a mess… go on to the bathroom, I'll keep the bed warm for you."

Eric groaned in dismay, hauling his wearily body from bed to trudge over to the master bath attached to their bedroom. Flicking on the light upon entering the spotless bathroom, Eric gagged. Lunging forward, he barely made it to the toilet in time before his dinner came crawling back up his throat.

Alan sighed, closing his eyes and wiggling down under the covers to hide like he always did when he _felt_ sick.

Eric moaned into the toilet, moping in his misery as his body continued to betray him and inflict discomfort. "Dammit... Al, were's the asprin?"

"Above the sink!" Alan called out with a cough, "Take water with it or you'll just throw up again."

Eric whined, struggling to his feet. "But drinkin' means m' stomach cramps up!" he complained, moving to search the medicine cabinet. "It's like bein' pregnant all over again!"

"…You aren't the only parent in this house who has mothered a baby."

"I haven' mothered any." Eric stated, finding the bottle and carrying it back to bed with a glass of water. "Fathered one an' carried another in my womb... I ain' a mother Al."

He reached the bedside, handing the glass and pills to his husband. "'Ere."

Alan waved the comment off and peeked out, sitting up to take the offered relief. "So tired…"

"Same." Eric agreed, kissing Alan's cheek. "I'm not goin' in again t'day... Feel awful." He slipped over to the side of the bed, sinking down upon it with a wounded whimper.

"Then come back to bed, Love…" Alan yawned, hugging his pillow.

Eric yawned, slipping back in bedside his husband. "Kiss an' make it better?"

He turned his head to the window – and prompty froze.

"Only if you come back here, I finally got somewhat comfortable…" Alan mumbled into his pillow.

But Eric remained rooted, staring wide eyed at the window. A large, ominous shadow sat perched on the sill, eyes glowing an eerie yellow-green and the smell of rotting flesh floating through the air.

"…Fine…" Alan sighed, letting himself start to drift off.

There was a sudden tap, the lock to the window clicking open.

"Alan..."

"Hmm?" he hummed back, clearly already further asleep than awake.

"Somethin's outside the window..."

"…Birds…"

"The size o' a horse?"

"Don't be silly…come to bed, its cold…" Alan mumbled.

But the lock clicked again, the window swinging open, something slinking inside. Eric's breath caught in his throat, seeing a figure of pure darkness stepping onto the hardwood floor, the smell worsening.

Alan groaned, "Eric…whatever you are doing…stop…"

"Al, I'm righ' 'ere!" Eric whisper protested, sneaking his way to cuddle against Alan's side, the floor creaking as the intruder stalked across to the side of the bed.

Eric almost snarled, fangs glittering in the moonlight as he bared a warning.

"…Why do you smell bad..?"

"It ain' me!" Eric insisted, freezing when the shadow turned his way, yellow eyes staring; in the small section of moonlight, Eric thought he caught a glimpse of red hair.

"Mph…" Alan pulled the blankets back over his head to hide from the smell.

Eric watched as the shadow approached, looming over Alan's hidden form.

"Get away from 'im!" Eric snarled, moving protectively over his husband. "Why are ya in 'ere, whaddya want?!"

"Eric, you're acting oddly—go to bed or at least leave me to do so. I have to get up to make breakfast in the morning…"

Eric froze as the shadow reached behind it, pulling something over it's head, something that looked faintly like-

A crossbow?

Alan sighed, rolling over, the blankets caught on his shoulder and exposing his back as he slipped his arms around Eric, sleepily using his lap as a pillow.

Eric paused, watching the man warily, placing his hand on Alan's back.

The man aimed the crossbow at the couple, clicking it.

Alan blinked his eyes open, "You're hand is cold, Er-!" he gasped, seeing the…person? Shadow? Demon? Whatever it was standing over them and taking aim. He acted quickly on instinct to protect his family, sitting up and tackling Eric to the side; toppling themselves off the edge of the bed and to the floor, knocking over the side table, and breaking the lamp that sat upon it.

The arrow fired just as Alan pushing Eric down, the weapon missing them by a mere inch, landing straight into the wall. Groaning, Eric immediately sat up and put Alan behind him, eyeing the shadow with furious eyes.

"Who the 'ell are ya?!"

The shadow paused, and a husky voice with a very familiar accent spoke out. "...Been a while since I spoke ta m' people."

Alan gripped Eric's shoulder, staring at the shadow. "What are you? Why are you here?"

The shadow, a man presumably, spoke not another word. He turned his head, glancing about the room in mock curiosity.

Then there was a creak from down the hall, a voice calling out, "Mummy, Daddy? I feel sick..."

The man snapped his head toward the door, dangerous intent set in his eyes.

"Dun y fucken dare!" Eric snarled.

"Rachel!" Alan cried, "Don't come in here, baby! Go hide!—Run to Ronald!"

William and Ronald's house was down the road a ways, but it was close enough.

The shadow glanced at him, then took off, bolting down the hall. Eric swore, scrambling to his feet and staggering after him, his illness making him dizzy.

Alan was right behind him, "Eric—where's your scythe?!"

"I'm gettin' ta tha', gimme a minute!" Eric shouted, lunging to tackle the man down, knocking the crossbow from his hands.

Alan leapt over the two, finding his daughter and scooping her up in his arms, continuing to run out the door and down the road.

Eric rolled over, dodging a punch from his opponent with some difficultly. Normally, he'd been throwing his own weight about, delivering his own punches. But at the moment, his head was spinning and his stomach was churning.

_'No... Not now!_' he begged, wincing as he was kicked hard in the shin.

* * *

Ronald was busy, chasing his youngest son around the house, trying to herd him into the bathroom for his evening bath. The boy laughing and teasing his mother as he declared never taking a bath again.

"Oh yeah? Got-ya!" Ronald smirked, managing to scoop the boy up and tucking his squirming form under his arm as he headed back towards the bathroom where the bubble bath was waiting.

There was a frantic knock at the door, and Ronald frowned, "Bri-Bri, could you get that?" he called out.

Briella sighed, putting down her book and sitting up on the couch. Rising to her feet, she trudged almost stiffly to the door, unlocking it and twisting the knob.

"Oh thank Rhea! Bri—lock the door tight!" Alan said as he was let in, setting his daughter down. "Are you alright, baby?"

Rachel nodded, though she shivered and hiccupped, silent tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. "Mommy... Where's Daddy?"

"Daddy…Daddy's fighting the scary shadow." Alan said in the most soothing voice he could, "Daddy will be fine."

-he hoped.

Briella frowned. "Grandma... what's going on?"

"Something attacked us." Alan said, "Where are your parents?"

"Upstairs, tryin' ta give Richard a bath." Briella said with a frown. "Wait…you said something attacked you and Grandpa?"

"And then ran after our baby." Alan said, hugging her. "I don't know what it was…it was like a shadow and smelled of something rotten. Had a crossbow, too."

"Crossbow?" she frowned. "But crossbows... no one's had a crossbow since the 1400's..."

"It was a shadow, Bri. I doubt it cares if it's using an old weapon since replaced by guns."

But something wasn't right. Briella continued to frown, trying to poke her brain for an answer.

_'No.. that's not true...'_

A memory appeared, blurred slightly.

_'I-I've seen someone with a crossbow before... could it be...? No, it's not possible-'_

Her thoughts were interrupted as the living room window was smashed, Eric's bruised and battered body flying into the house.

"Eric!" Alan screamed as Rachel started crying. He shoved his daughter into his grand daughter's arms, "Take her someplace safe—quickly!" he said running over to his husband.

Briella nodded, taking Rachel and shoving her up the stairs. "Go find Mom and Dad - they will protect you!"

She turned back, summoning her training scythe. Eric, meanwhile, groaned, rolling onto his back.

"Ahhh... Dammit."

"Eric—are you okay?" Alan asked, lightly touching where broken glass was stuck in his arm, "Hold still."

"I think so-ack!" Eric winced. "Maybe not... Bastard's tough. 'S not like any Reaper I've ever fault before... that crossbow was a scythe."

"A scythe? But he was nothing like a reaper…" Alan said, helping him up, "Go up with the children—send William down to help!"

Eric, however, shook his head.

"No... I ain' leavin' ya ta figh' 'im... 'e's too strong. Ya go with the kids. I'll fight with Will."

"You have glass in your arm!" Alan shook his head, "I may not work at Dispatch anymore, but I can still fight—and I don't have Thorns to get in the way thanks to your mother—I can do this."

"Al..." Eric bit his lip. "I dun wanna loose ya..."

"You won't. And I won't loose you again. You're hurt, Help Ronnie get the kids all out, William and I can do this. Trust me and hand me your scythe."

Eric hesitated for a moment, then nodded, passing over his scythe to his husband. "Be careful, beautiful."

Alan nodded, pecking his cheek, "Go on." He stood up, gripping the handle of his husband's saw and faced the window, waiting.

Eric nodded, limping over to and up the stairs towards his daughter and son where they were watching, having heard the breaking glass and came running. Passing Will, he nodded to him, eyes reading more than he could say out loud.

"... I'll make sure he lives" the supervisor stated, readying his scythe.

"You best make sure you both survive!" Ronald said, hugging the three children, "Bri, put that scythe away, you are not staying to fight."

"What?! But Mom-"

"No buts! You are not qualified for this yet, and I'll not have you risking yourself like that before you get your license! And I won't loose you, too!"

Briella cursed, watching as her father took his place beside her grandmother. There was a crash, dust flying into the house.

"Bri—come!" Ronald said, handing Rachel to his father so he could grab his daughter's wrist and pull her along, "We need to get Ray and Richie to safety and send help.

Eric limped up the stairs, moving to take his granddaughter's hand. "Bri, yer mother's righ'..."

He panted, feeling his fever spike up a notch. Stumbling, he leaned on the railway, wincing as a voice called out into house.

"Here, kitty, kitty~"

Alan gripped the handle of Eric's scythe and glanced at William. He had teamed up with William once in a while when he was a working reaper; so they knew how each other fought and knew how to work well together.

"You'll not be touching my family!" He shouted to grab the man's attention and lure him away from perusing the children.

The man stepped into the house, shaking glass and debris from his fiery red hair; tied back, a flame colored beard to match. The man's Celtic roots were bare for all to see. He need not speak for the other Reapers to know he was from the DarkIsland; the kilt was enough evidence.

Peering around the house behind square glasses, he made a noise of interest.

"Interesting... how much time has passed."

"That doesn't matter." Alan hissed, "You've threatened my family."

"I only come to deliver a message... an' ta find someone..." the man hummed, cocking his crossbow in silent warning, that if the family dared to attack, he was waiting and ready.

His stepped further into the house, coming into view of the stairwell, and a certain girl.

"If that was the case you would have said something rather than attack us in our bed!" Alan said, sniffling.

Briella's eyes widened. She recognized the man—but that was impossible!

"I wasn' plannin' on attacking 'til yer husband made a fuss." the man snorted, glancing around. "Where are they?"

"…Who?" My family? You aren't touching them!"

"The children" he said, scanning the stairwell before his eyes fell upon Briella. "Ahh... There's one of them."

Alan glanced back, "Bri! We told you to go with your mother and grandfather!"

"…I wanted to help…"

"Briella, get back with your mother!" William barked, readying his scythe in case the strange Reaper made a move.

The redhead smiled, the gesture most sinister than friendly. "Been a while, hasn't it?"

"But Mum and Grandpa took the kids and left!" she protested, "I may as well help out here! Please, daddy?" She glanced at the intruder, not knowing how to respond—for once,

"No, go now!" William snapped, standing his ground.

"Las' I remember ya were a couple o' yers younger... wanderin' in abandoned places, trepassin'" the strange man crooned, giving her a smirk. "Am I righ', Briella?"

"Hard to say—I break a lot of rules." She said dully as she looked at him.

"Ya dun remember me?" the man chuckled. "Truly?"

"Should I?"

"Ya tried ta reap m' daughter." he gave her a look. "Came with yer brother ta our old Dispatch... the first visitors we've had in _years_."

"I never reaped anyone! Haven't even taken my exam yet ya big idiot!"

The man looked almost disappointed, and added dryly. "An' I suppose ya forgot 'bout how ya an' yer brother snuck out to our abandoned town... an' how 'e fell inta the mines."

"And you think that falling into an old mine means we tried to reap someone?"

The man resisted the urge to shoot an arrow at the wall.

"Kids these days... First ya call us 'zombies', then yer more oblivious than Simon."

She crossed her arms.

"Bri—go, now." Alan hissed, you don't have to talk to him."

The man eyed her for a moment, then smirked. "Ya lie, lass."

"Briella, what the hell is he talking about? No, never mind, just get out of here!" William said.

In his and Alan's distracted state, the man vanished, leaping up to hide on the ceiling.

"I can help, dad! Better me that he's after than going after Kai!" It was clear she still felt guilty; that it was all her fault her brother ran away.

"Kai...So the brother isn't here then... How disappointing." the man mused. "I was looking for him, most..."

"Yeah, well, you got me instead!" The teenager hissed, "And I'm a storm to deal with!" She raised her training scythe, an excited fire in her eye—she could finally show her father what she could do if this man didn't leave! She so dearly wanted to impress her parents, show what a good dispatch officer she'd be!

The man smirked, lifting his hand. A second later, a small fire started, igniting the tips of his fingers. "Be glad ta take ya as m' opponent."

She took a step forward, raising her scythe—only to be stopped by her grandmother's hand on her shoulder.

"Briella Anne."

"Oh come on, Grandma! How can I prove how good I am if I never get the chance!"

"You'll get the chance, love, but not right now!"

Taking the distraction as an opportunity, the man flicked his hand, sending the flames soaring into the wall, igniting it.

"Hey! I live here! You can't just set it on fire!" The girl cried out, breaking away from Alan and attacking the man.

The man laughed, dodging without much effort as the girl's blade came within an inch of his face. "Now we're talkin', lass! Show me wha' yer made off!"

He jumped over her, leaping through the broken window to outside.

She followed, swinging again with skill, clear that she had natural talent, but, like her mother, a little reckless.

The man nimbly dodged her attempts, leading the girl up onto the roof.

"Been a while since I had a fight like this... it's rather refreshing, dear Briella!" he chuckled. "Has life been good to you? Becoming a strong Reaper, like you used to say you would be?"

"What, have you been stalking me? _So_ not flattering!"

"No, I jus' have a good memory." he grinned. "Hard ta not remember a pair of noisy children invadin' yer home after years of solitude."

"I seem to remember you all being dead—so not the same thing as solitude!"

"Surprised? I'm a little m'self. Never thought m' magic would be this potent."

"Your rotting corpse tried to kill my brother and I!" she hissed, keeping on the offence.

"Correction, it was m' colleauges corpses tha' tried ta kill ya both! I merely watch with m' son an' daughter" the man smirked.

"Ya all looked the same! Bones and rot! We were just trying to explore a mystery spot!" She kicked out and managed to cut his cheek. "I wanted to see the truth of what happened there!"

He jumped back, shoes skidding against the tiles of the roof. A tickle of blood ran down his cheek, the man reaching up to wipe it away with curious fingers. He pulled his hand from his cheek, gazing first at the smear of blood, then at the girl.

He tilted his head to the side, and blinked with a cat-like smirk.

"Strong... but reckless."

He jumped up, landing a second later to kick the girl in the shoulder. The entire assault lasted only two seconds, but to the young woman, it was all in slow motion.

"Lass, I've been doin' this fer centuries. I'm what ya call an 'old timer'."

Bri gasped out, stumbling back and tripping over her feet.

"Enough!" Alan shouted, coming down onto the stranger and knocking him down. He held Eric's scythe to the man's throat, his right leg pressing his chest down.

The man smirked, staring Alan dead in the eye, like a predator eyeing prey. "Foolish little laddie..."

Cocking his crossbow, still loaded with the arrow from before, he held it to Alan's leg and fired.

"AHHGH!" Alan screamed, his leg giving out as he fell atop the mystery reaper. His husband's scythe creating a jagged but shallow cut along the side of the man's neck. Not quite deep enough to release records.

The arrow was imbedded deep into the bone of his leg right above his knee. The wound stung and pain spread from it down along his entire leg; a thin stream of his cinematic records flickering out for all to see.

The other man smirked, pushing Alan off him, rolling to the side before cocking his bow at the man again, giving Briella a warning of what would happen if she got too near. He sat, watching with interest as the records began to display a memory of the past few years.

* * *

**To be continued...**


	5. Chapter 5

_Alan sat in Alex's apartment, his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he watched Alex walk back into the room, "Thanks for letting me come over so suddenly." Alan sighed, a sad look on his face, "Everything just got too much again…I'm not strong enough for everything that's been happening…I almost broke down in front of the twins and they need their grandma to stay strong right now since Ron's still in the hospital…"_

_"It's no trouble at all…don't worry yourself too much." Alex smiled, carrying over two mugs of tea. "Forgive me, my tea cups seemed to have gone missing."_

_"It's fine, thank you." The brunet sighed as he took the offered mug and warming his hands on it, tears threatening to form as he gazed down into the hot drink._

_"Alan?" the blond frowned, moving to sit next to him on the couch. "Are you still thinking about him?"_

_"I can't help it…" Alan looked up at Alex, "He was my life for so long—we have a son together, yet he so easily left… I…can hardly sleep at night anymore. It's cold without him there—even if the twins sneak into my bed with me like they sometimes do…"_

_Alex frowned, reaching out to pull Alan into a hug. "He's an asshole - Eric should never have done that to you. What he did was unacceptable, and it is only he who lost everything - not you. Give him time, and he'll realize his mistake... just don't hurt yourself by taking him back. He's not to be trusted."_

_"I-I know, but…" Alan hugged himself, "…I was always worried about how hurt he'd be when Thorns take me…I…I never thought I'd be the one hurt—I was so sure he'd never leave me after he asked me to be his husband…I thought we'd be forever…and I got all too used to having him by my side."_

_"I know, shhh." Alex rubbed the man's back. "It's going to be okay..."_

_Yet, unforeseen by the brunet, a sinister glint seemed to appear in the blond's eyes._

_"…Alex…why does it hurt so much?" Alan leaned over, resting his forehead on the nurse's shoulder._

_"Well... He had your heart, and then stomped on it, yes? You loved him... but he betrayed you and your love. You have every right to be hurt."_

_Alan let out a sob, his body quivering as he set his mug of tea aside._

_Alex continued to comfort and hush the man, leading into the hours of night. "Don't worry, love. Eric will get what's coming to him."_

_Alan turned his head up, his lips just a hair's breath away from Alex. He felt like he shouldn't, but something drove him to close his eyes, pressing his lips to the nurse's._

_Alex's eyes widened before closing, the man sinking deep into the kiss, his heart fluttering._

_Alan pulled back slightly, whispering; "…I don't want to be alone tonight…can I stay?"_

_"Of course." Alex murmured, trailing a kiss of comfort along the shell of Alan's ear. "I have some extra pajamas I can give you. Stay for as long as you need - I'm here for you."_

_"Thank you…you're too kind to me, Alex…"_

As Alan leaned in to press another kiss to his lips, the scene changed with a bright flickering of the cinematic records, and it showed him months later after Eric had been rescued and was starting to heal from the abuse of the circus. Their daughter born and tucked into her crib, safe and sound.

_Alan slipped into their bedroom, nervously. Watching Eric as the man climbed into bed, "Eric…I…I know we made up, but…we need to talk about what happened…"_

_Eric stopped, halfway under the covers, his face solemn and body slouched. Ever since they'd returned to __London__, Eric's seemingly healed self seemed to wither. Something about being back in the heart of England, where the last year had been nothing but memories of pain for the man and his family, had triggered something in Eric and caused him to become more withdrawn and almost anxiety ridden. _

_But he was slowly healing regardless, and in time, he would be alright - so he hoped. Alan, however, was right; with a nod, he shifted, making room for his husband to sit beside him._

_"Yeah... I know."_

_Alan slowly moved over and climbed onto the bed, sitting next to his husband, "…I…I almost moved on…Even worse…it was with the very bastard causing our family so much pain…"_

_Eric winced, staring down at the floor. He hated talking about Alex, the mere mention of the bastard's name making his blood boil. The fact that he almost destroyed them, almost ruined his and Alan's relationship..._

_He choked, his hand reaching up to grip at his chest, over his heart. _

_"W-Wasn't yer fault..." he managed after a moment. "Asshole... I hate 'im..."_

_"I still feel guilty!" Alan shook his head, choking up, "I could feel that something was off…I could feel that when we—" he swallowed and took a deep breath, "When he and I kissed I felt that I shouldn't but I did anyway. We never did more than that but—I—I cheated on you…"_

_"It wasn' yer fault..." Eric repeated, feeling his body tremble and eyes grow wet with tears. "Ya w-were tricked... 'E... 'E tricked ya inta bein' with 'im so I'd be out o' the picture... Yer n-not t-t-t-ta blame... I forgive ya, A-Al..."_

_He hiccupped, blinking as a single tear fell down his cheek. Oh, how he hated talking about this subject, when he was trying so desperately to forget the pain. But Alan needed to get this off his chest, and he was open to listening._

_Alan sobbed again and suddenly flung himself forward in a rare display of how vulnerable he felt. Wrapping his arms around Eric, he let them fall back against the pillows as he lay atop his lover, taking shaky breaths._

_"You're too good to me…I should have known that you didn't betray me…betray our family—I should have known…that there was more going on that what I could see…back before Ronnie was hurt…"_

_"No..." Eric choked, more tears spilling down his cheeks. "I should've... s-s-should have t-told ya in the first p-place... This whole thin' is m-my fault..."_

_Alan tightened his arms around his husband, "Don't cry…" he whispered, "You always blame yourself for everything…you aren't always to blame for things. I made my mistakes, too."_

_Eric sniffled, wrapping his arms around Alan, burying his face into his shoulder. He trembled, weeping softly, but silently._

_Alan lay on Eric for a long moment before speaking again, "Lets…lets start over…lets go on a mini vacation and let ourselves get close again…get to know each other all over again and renew our vows…"_

_Eric nodded, turning his head to kiss Alan on the cheek. There was silence for a moment, before the baby monitor on the nightstand crackled, a small whimper arising._

_Alan sighed, "I forgot how it was having a baby…" he pushed himself up and wiped his tears away before getting up, "I'll go check on her."_

_Eric shivered, following suit. "No... I-I'll get 'er. Ya get ready fer bed..."_

_He stood, rubbing gingerly at his reddened cheeks, feeling cold yet hot at the same time._

_"If you're sure." Alan said, kissing him before letting him go check on their little girl._

* * *

The cinematic records faded, leaving Alan gasping on the ground, holding his leg. The pain kept growing and spreading through his leg, and the skin around the wound started turning black and smelling of decay.

The redheaded Scotsman smirked, looming over him.

"Interestin'... so ya an' yer husband had a break up a while back..." he let out a low whistle. "Nasty bugger up if I ever saw one..."

Shaking his head, he turned back to Briella.

"I'll be off now, lass... But heed m' warnin'. Conformity will end soon, an' our time will come again. M' curse is upon ya... dun try ta run from it."

With that said, he leapt up, bouncing across the roof tops and into the night.

"Grandma!" Briella rushed to Alan's side, "Oh fuck! This looks bad—DADDY!"

William came rushing out of the house, having been attempting to put out the fire, his eyes widening upon seeing his mother-in-law. "ALAN!"

"I—I'm fine-!" Alan gasped.

"Liar!" Briella cried out, "I can see that it's not fine! You're skin is decaying!"

"Briella, stay with your grandmother, I'll go call the infirmary!" William said, rushing back into the house, searching for the phone.

She nodded, hugging Alan.

"Shit…shit, shit!"

"Bri—language." Alan scolded, "I'll be fine—I've been struck with a scythe blade before…"

"But Grandma, your leg-!"

"It'll scar…but—ghn—it'll be fine after the medical team gets the scythe out of me." He reassured with a pained smile, "Come on, where's my brave granddaughter?"

"Scared, Grandma... I lost Kai, I can't loose you!"

"Bri—I'm not going anywhere." He cupped her cheek. "You know a scythe to the leg isn't fatal. It just hurts—a lot."

She bit her lip. "I know, but..."

"ALAN!" Eric scrambled up onto the roof, his weakened body weighing him down. Stumbling over to Alan, he collapsed beside the man, reaching out to touch his cheek, horrified.

"…Where'd you come from? You were supposed to take the babies and run…" Alan smiled at him, taking his hand.

"While we were looking for Bri who disappeared on us, we heard you scream…" Ronald said, "And then saw that man disappear, so we came back."

"Alan..." Eric stroked the man's soft skin. "Wha' happened?"

"The guy didn't like me knocking him down after he kicked my grandbaby." He said trying to give a cocky smile like his lover and son so often gave.

Eric managed to smile weakly back, but his eyes were brimming with worry and fear. Taking Alan's hand, he brought the man's slender fingers to his lips, pressing a tiny kiss to the tips. He kept his eyes on his husband's face, never faltering even as the sound of sirens broke the silence.

"Don't look so worried…it's just an arrow to my knee. I'll be fine—and he's gone. That's the important thing."

"Mama's hurt!" Rachel cried, hugging her big brother.

The medical team arrived a few moments later, working fast but carefully to transport Alan off the roof onto a stretcher. Eric held his hand as he was led into the ambulance, wincing as the doctors immediately began fussing over the brunet and rushed him to the Hospital.

* * *

"What is this-?"

"I've never seed this reaction before—are you sure the arrow is a scythe blade?"

The medics muttered amongst themselves as they cut away Alan's pant leg and examined the decaying damage.

"'S wha' it seemed like when 'e was shootin' a' us" Eric started to say, Briellia cutting him off before he got too far ahead of himself.

"Yes... The moment it hit Grandma's leg, it let loose a bunch of records."

"Sir, his leg is badly damaged..." a nurse announced, a nervous look upon his face. "All nerves below the knee are dead..."

"What do you mean, dead? That's impossible!" Alan gasped, his eyes wide. Though, now that he thought about it. The pain had faded from below his knee, leaving nothing but the pain moving further up.

"We have to cut off the poison before it spreads above the knee and kill the rest of his nerves!" another paramedic exclaimed, gathering a group of doctors to begin preparations. "You there! Get me a saw!"

"Wait! No!" Alan cried out, his eyes wide, "You can't! There has to be another way! You can't cut it off! I—I need my leg!" the brunet said, trying to stop the nurse from tying off his leg above the wound.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Humphries... There is no choice, it's the only way to stop the poison..." the paramedic said. "Now-"

"Mr. Slingby, give it back!"

The paramedic turned his head, eyes growing wide at the sight of Eric trying to take a saw away from a nurse.

"Leave Alan alone with yer damn cuttin' business! Jus' give 'im an' antidote!"

"We have none! We don't know what it is—we never have seen it before. The only thing we can do is amputate and then do tests on his dead leg to see if we can develop an antidote for if this happens to someone else." The doctor said, trying to calm both reapers, "And the longer we wait, the more we'll have to cut off."

Eric went silent, glancing at his husband with sad eyes. This was his fault... if only he'd gone with the brunet, or made sure Briella had stayed with them-!

"Oh, Rhea, no…" Alan cried, watching as a nurse gave him a shot near the cutting location to help numb the pain, "No—please!"

"Mister Slingby—if you insist upon being in here then go wash up and put on gloves, a mask, and then help hold your husband down and keep him calm."

Eric stayed silent for a moment, then betrayed his husband's pleas and nodded. Stepping into the back, he was greeted by a couple other doctors, who made to help him find a pair of scrubs before stopping.

"You're ill..." one noted. "Sir, as much as you want to help your husband, it may be best you stay back here least you and the wound exchange bacteria. We can't have any mistakes with this. I'm sorry."

Eric looked ready to protest, when the man gently nudged him back, pushing him into the closet and closing the door shut, locking it from the outside. It was no secret that Eric was headstrong and would not comply, so extra measures had to be taken to ensure that he and his husband would come out of this fine. The closet was a big enough room to prevent him from feeling claustrophobic, and would keep him out of their hair for a while.

The surgery took several long hours, and Alan eventually, between the drugs and the pain, passed out. The doctors removed the dead limb and made sure to clean up all traces of the assumed poison before fixing his stump up and wheeling him into a room for recovery.

Eric was eventually let out, and he came out of the closet in a bad mood. Storming down the hall, he went to the front desk, the woman bewildered to see him standing there, scraped and bruised in his pajamas.

"Where's m' husband?!" he demanded.

"…And who is your husband?" she asked, clearly a new receptionist as she didn't know who he was.

"Alan Humphries." Eric grunted.

"One moment, please." She said, typing in Alan's name into her computer to bring up his file, "Oh…he's been in here a lot—looks like he just got out of an emergency operation… they have him set up in room seven-twelve for recovery."

Eric's eye twitched, and he let out a low growl. Yet the moment she mentioned the room, he nodded his thanks, bolting off down the hall. He stumbled, almost collapsing into a group of nurses, feeling dizzy and hot from fever.

* * *

Alan lay in the bed. He was awake again, but silent, tears rolling down his cheeks as he gazed out the window. He didn't feel much of anything thanks to the pain killers he'd been given, but this stay in the hospital was so unlike all the others. Thorns, pregnancy… he almost wished it had been an attack that landed him in this colorless room that smelled so sterol it was almost sickening in its own way. And silent.

Under his covers lay the source of his tears. His right leg, missing from slightly above his knee, sewn up and wrapped as if that could hide the fact that it was missing. He felt violated. Stripped of so much; his freedom, his independence…

There was a knock on the door, Eric's voice floating in through the wood. "Alan...?"

Alan whimpered, pulling his blanket up over his head.

No…he didn't want to be seen like this…

"Alan...Can I come in? Please?" Eric asked, almost in a begging tone.

The brunet shook his head, knowing that no one could see.

The door opened with a creak, a newly bandaged Eric slipping inside, his pajamas having been removed in favor for a gown. While he running up to the seventh floor, he had almost ran into the group of nurses who forced him to stop and they cleaned him up.

"Alan?" he repeated, approaching the bed.

Alan didn't move in his spot.

'_No, please—I don't want you to see_…'

Eric, however, sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching over and yanking off the blankets.

Alan gasped, curling up slightly as he looked tearfully up at his husband. He looked so small and vulnerable lying in the white hospital bed, a white nightgown on his form. It was like looking down at a fallen angel.

The mere sight of his husband's pitful state broke Eric's heart. The Scotsman shifted, slipping onto the bed beside the brunet, moving to pull him into a comforting embrace. Stroking his head, he murmured soft words of encouragement, trying to comfort the man as best he could. Still, he wished he could do more, even give up his own leg or arm if he could.

Alan broke down, crying into Eric's chest and curling into his embrace. "E-Eric…"

"Shhhh..." Eric soothed. "It's gonna be alrigh'... We're gonna get through this, I promise."

"H-how?" Alan looked up at Eric, "They took my _leg_, Eric! It's gone!"

"We'll get a prosthetic, teach ya ta walk with it, an' get ya back on yer feet."

Alan shook his head, feeling absolutely helpless.

"We'll make it by... Trust me."

"Don—don't look at it." Alan sobbed.

"Alan... Look a' me" Eric tilted the man's face up to his own, guiding him into a gentle, soothing kiss. "This doesn' change who ya are, love... I love ya, inside an' out. I'm here fer ya, jus' as ya were there fer me when I needed ya."

"I—I know but just—please…don't look at it!" Alan pleaded, "Please…"

Eric nodded, respecting his husband's wishes. "Get some rest, sweetheart... I'm here."

"…Don't leave me…" he choked out, "Not even for a second… I need you, Eric…"

"Shhhh... I'm not goin' anywhere, sweetheart. I'm here, yer safe... 'S alrigh'...?"

With a shaky sigh, Alan relaxed against Eric, closing his eyes and struggling to get comfortable. He wanted to curl around Eric, but he also wanted to keep his stump away from where Eric would feel it.

Eric stroked his head in response to his hesitation, coaxing him. He peppered kissed along the line of his jaw, easing him into a sleepy kiss.

"Rest..."

"You should, too…you're still sick…" he murmured. "…Where's everyone else?"

"Home, I think... Will an' Ron were attemptin' ta get the kids ta bed." Eric yawned, grabbing the blankets and draping them warmly over Alan. He had talked to William and Ronald on his cell phone during the long hours in the closet.

"…It was already kind of late…" he sighed. "As long as Rachel is with Ronald, then it's fine…"

"She is... She's so worried about her Mama, though." Eric smiled at him.

"…Fourteen days…I'm stuck here…"

"I'm here fer ten, so dun worry... I'll still be buggin' ya." Eric smiled.

"…We should request to share a room…" he muttered, closing his eyes again and starting to drift off to sleep.

"I'll put a word in tomorrow." Eric murmured, nuzzling his hair.

But Alan had already fallen asleep again, snuggling up needfully to his true love, his left leg tangled around Eric's and his right stump resting atop Eric's thighs.

* * *

**-To be continued**


	6. Chapter 6

The halls of the laboratory were quiet, the last of the scientists gone away for the night. Up and down the hall, doors with numbers and names stood along the walls on either side of the lone guard making his rounds. All empty, the use of test subjects since banned in the year 1984. Now the rooms were just for show, or for the rare case that somehow made it's way into the lab for necessary research.

Such case was the only confined life, sitting alone in the very last room at the end of the hall, right before the building spilt off into a maze of corridors and labs.

Wrapped up in the tight embrace of a white straight jacket, the figure shifted, a low groan breaking the silence. He wiggled again, rejoicing in the feel of a loose buckle. It rattled and tore with a loud rip, the leather worn from years of neglect.

Spurned on, he continued his attempt to escape, pushing and struggling against the bounds holding in place. Until, finally, they too came loose and ripped apart.

When the last piece of leather gave way, the man threw his arms out, sending the remains of the jacket scattering. Oh, how he had longed for this - a chance to finally stretch his aching arms.

Humming contently, he shook his head, long blond hair falling before his thin face like a curtain.

What once was a creature of decayed flesh and disgusting grotesque features was now a youth of perfectly restored health. His eyes, once white and blind, were clear - green and yellow of the standard Reaper. His hair, no longer filthy and matted, had been forced to grow long and out of control during his years of solitary confinement. Body skinny and in desperate need of nutrition, but better than it had been during his days as the living dead.

If that is what he was to begin with.

His friends, family... all of them had shared the same fate. Except for him, it seemed - he was still here, while the others...

Something wet splashed upon his hand, and it was to his greatest shock that he found himself crying. His heart clenched, as did his fist and teeth, anger at his family's fate boiling up inside of him.

The emotions, the grief and stress of spending years alone with pent up guilt and regret, all of it broke loose. Like a dam to a flood, the rage came, and the meltdown started.

He raised his head, hands fisting his hair as a scream of anguish echoed out, the thoughts continuously reminding him that his family was dead; gone, forgotten, never to be seen again.

It was too much, too much! He was too stimulated, he needed to get out of there! Pacing around his padded cell with heaving breaths, fists held tightly to his side, he continued to sob and scream, occasionally throwing himself at the wall in his stress.

Hearing thuds coming from one of the rooms, the night guard approached, taking out his keys and opening the door and turning on the light. His eyes widened, "Hey! How'd you get in here?!"

Simon slipped off the wall, slithering to the floor, his head bowed. He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself, shaking his head as silent tears dripped to the floor. Hearing the door open, he jumped, staring wide eyed at the guard.

"Ah..."

"I asked you a question! What are you doing in here?"

"U-Um... I was... p-put here..." Simon stuttered, his eyes darting about for an escape-

-which so happened to be a gap between the man's leg and the door.

"Put here? By whom? These rooms aren't ever used anymore."

"P-People... took me... aw-way from..."

From who? The memory was fuzzy, almost too faint; a figure staring him down in the darkness of the mines, whimpering softly. Then again, the same blurred figure, resting in a bed in a pure white room. It confused the man, Simon biting his lip as he struggled to think. Who was that person?

He felt like he knew them, that they were someone special to him, but he could figure out why. It was nerve-wracking; something told him he knew that stranger! He paused, remembering the figure's name vaguely.

"K-Ka-ai..."

"….People took you away from Kai? Kai who?"

"K-Kai... I don't knowwwww!" the blond man wailed, clutching at his head in frusteration in despair. "I can't remember!"

"Well…hey, come with me…we'll figure this out and maybe get you something to eat…"

Simon nodded, shakily getting to his feet, shivering as the cold night air brushed against his bare skin. The thin gown covering his body did little to help matters, as the blond edged further out into the chill, out of the confines of the padded cell. Yet the moment he was out, a loud bang sounded from down the hall, and the man yelped, taking off like a bullet towards reception.

"H-Hey! Come back!" The guard shouted, chasing after him.

Simon, however, kept running, bolting down a separate hallway upon reaching the front entrance, scampering like a frightened puppy. Seeing a door close by, he turned, diving into another section of the building labeled, "Infirmary".

* * *

Ten days had passed since Alan had lost his leg to the tainted scythe arrow. The medical team was still running tests on his leg and the poison that killed it, but he was healing quickly. His stitches removed. He was just being kept to make sure no infection started. And he and Eric had also seemed to both get over the flue they had caught.

Alan remained rather depressed over loosing his leg, and Briella's reaction to his loss hadn't helped when the rest of the family learned of his amputation. Eric hated seeing his husband so down. Alan had always been a spot of sunshine in everyone's life, no matter what, and now he seemed so broken.

Worried for Alan, he had convinced the hospital to let him stay with Alan the remaining days Alan would be kept there for observation, staying in his room with him, and he was determined to help the brunet feel better. To prove his love for him wasn't affected by what had happened.

Alan lay on the hospital bed under his lover, his cheeks painted red as he watched Eric's hands stripping him out of his pajamas.

"Eric…we're in public…"

"Shhh..." Eric hushed him, running his hands up and down the brunet's sides. "I locked the door... 'S jus' you and me."

Alan bit his lip. He felt nervous and shy—much like the very first time they had made love—only at least that time they had been in the privacy of Eric's apartment at the time. "Are you sure…that you want to with me like this?"

"Alan, look a' me," Eric started straight into the brunet's eyes. "I love ya... No matter wha' happens, yer still the one m' hearts desires."

Alan took a shaky breath, "But I can't…wrap my legs around you in that way that drives you crazy…" he whispered.

"Doesn' matter... this is abou' ya, sweetheart. Not me." Eric pointed out, pressing a kissed to Alan's chest.

"But that's one of my favorite parts…seeing that look on your face…"

"Alan, please... Let me pamper ya, jus' this once. I'll still have tha' look on m' face, leg wrapped around m' waist or not."

Alan hesitated but gave a small nod as he reached up and slipped his arms around his lover, "Alright…"

Eric smiled down at him, leading him into a loving kiss.

"Mmh…" humming into the kiss, Alan finally let his insecurities go and started to loose himself to his lover. He pulled Eric down closer to his body and shifted his good leg up and around him.

Eric purred, his hands teasing Alan's body over and over again, running up and down the length of his stomach and hips with dancing fingers.

Alan shivered at the tickling sensation, "You're too good to me…" he moaned softly.

* * *

Simon bolted down the hall, panting, hearing the night guard still giving chase behind him. An hour into his escape, and he was terrified. The man simply would not give up, and had pursued Simon throughout most of the hospital by now.

He bit his lip, slowing to a stop as he came upon a dead end - bad luck. Eyes darting about fearfully, he spotted a vent, the grate loosened. Wasting no time, he weighed his options and yanked the grate off the wall, tossing it aside before climbing up into the air duct.

Crawling through the confined space, Simon scurried around like a mouse in search of escape. His movements were not silent, and as a result loud bangs began to sound throughout the hospital.

* * *

Eric and Alan were lost within each other's embrace. Their clothes had been shed and Alan's cries and moans mixed with Eric's grunts as they became one. They forgot where they were, the only thing that mattered was the pleasure they were giving each other. They didn't care if the night nurses could hear them—and they didn't notice the sound of banging overhead.

* * *

Simon bit his lip, his face flushing as he heard the various moans and cries of pleasure coming from below. Dear Rhea, it sounded exactly like the noises he used to hear coming from Bruno's room on the odd night. Cries that sounded suspiciously like Allan's...

Shaking his head, he made to move forward, when a single name was cried out.

"ALAN! OH RHEA, ALAN!"

His eyes widened; Allan?! Allan Landshire was here?! Simon wasn't the only one to survive?

Distracted, he leaned down to get a better earful when the duct gave way and he just barely grabbed the edge of the duct in time to prevent from being plummeted to the floor.

Alan was crying out and trembling as his back arched up odd the bed, "Eric—I-I'm going to-!" He cried out as he came to completion as the ceiling suddenly gave way and near the foot of the bed hung a man with wild, unkept blond hair. The brunet gave a second shriek—only one of startled fear.

Eric started, turning around to stare at the man with wide eyes. "WHA' THE FUCK?! WHO THE 'ELL ARE YA?!"

Immediately, he moved his body, covering Alan and shielding him from any threat.

Simon, however, whimpered, feeling his grip loosen. He slipped, falling onto the bed with a soft plop.

Alan shivered and grasped the sheets, throwing them over he and his husband's forms.

Simon swallowed, seeing hostility stare him full in the face. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, intent on getting up and running when a sharp pain bit him on the ankle.

Collapsing onto his side with a yelp, he clutched at his ankle, feeling the tendons swell.

Being the gentle heart he was, Alan looked around, finding and grabbing Eric's pants and handing it to him, "He's hurt, go find a nurse."

Eric eyed the man suspiciously, slipping his pants on before getting up. Simon swallowed, edging over to the bed, leaning tiredly against it as Eric sent a warning look before exiting out the door.

Simon blinked nervously, turning his gaze towards Alan.

"A-Allan...?"

"…Do…I know you?" Alan asked, confused. He'd never seen this man before—at least he didn't remember him.

Simon, however, didn't understand the man's indifference and huffed, unable to pick up the social cue at first.

"Allan... It's me. Simon Bellerose! We work at the Timberdale Dispatch - I'm the one who stapled your underwear to the wall tha one Valentines Day because James said it would make you happy but it didn't! Oh, and that one time, when Bruno took you out for a date, and I dressed up to be your server at the restaurant, because I wanted everything to go okay... We are good friends! We... we... used to be... But everyone else... is..."

He choked, his eyes welling up with tears; this was too much, too overwhelming.

"…I—I'm sorry, I'm not the same Alan…My name is Alan Humphries and I've never been to Timberdale—wait—you're from Timberdale?" Alan's eyes widened, "But—That place is condemned! No one's worked there in centuries!"

Simon looked crushed, his last hope at finding someone from his self-proclaimed family gone. Hiccupping, he reached up to rubbed at his eyes, tears spilling down his cheek.

Alan frowned, "Hey—are you okay?"

"They're dead... My entire family is dead!" Simon sobbed, hiding his face in his hands.

Alan relaxed, his motherly instincts kicking in and he touched the man's shoulder, "Simon…are you sure they are? What happened?"

Simon flinched slightly as Alan touched his shoulder, staring at him with a mixture of uncertainty and confusion. Then, he swallowed, nodding.

"W-We used to be a solitary Dispatch... Bruno t-took me in shortly after I died. I was supposed to be transported to London - another Reaper from Cornwall had been visiting Timberdale and happened to be the one to reap me after I was killed by a falling tree. But... they found out I had something 'wrong' with me, and they didn't want me in their office. So Bruno found out and took me in - it was my only option, and Timberdale was my home to begin with. Most Reapers from Timberdale were rejected by the London Branch - the High Council decided it would be better to keep small town goers isolated within their own community, so we'd adapt better..."

He took a moment to wipe at his eyes and nose, snot dripping a little.

"But Bruno... He took me in... The Dispatch became the only family I h-had..." he choked again. "Everything was perfect - it was just us and we lived together like family...I loved that feeling of being with people who accepted me for who I was. T-Then Iain joined, and he became my best friend... and then when he found two babies recently reborn in the forest; I became an uncle. B-But then... London came and hurt Angela, took away her wings... then Iain got mad and did something terrible I think. London cut off all ties with us. What was worse was the illness..."

He swallowed.

"A witch used to live on the edge of the forest, and she used to get so mad at me for trespassing... but she kept telling me to do it." he explained, then ,mocked an old woman's voice. "'Keep trespassing on my land, Reaper! See what happens!'"

Simon shook his head.

"It confused me, because I did what she told, and nothing happened - except for one time when she pointed her stick at me and started yelling weird things. Now I get urges to fetch or beg for treats, especially when the full moon is out... I don't know why though. But anyways... she had this grudge or something against the entire town. The townspeople hated her; always have... then one day, I think they went too far. Because we saw the sky turn red, and evil laughter filled the air - that's when everything started to die around us. People, plants... it was scary, even for us Reapers - only because we started to get sick and die too..."

A lot of what Simon said didn't completely make sense to Alan, but he was able to understand some of it, "Did you escape when everything started to die?"

Simon shook his head.

"No... I died with them... Except, we couldn't really die. It was curse, not a regular disease. So, instead of dying, my life held on by thread... I don't remember much before that... just that everyone else died with me... If they aren't here, then that means they are really gone...My family..."

"I don't think so…if you 'died' with them they could have come back, too. Maybe they are just someplace else." Alan tried.

"No… I saw them dead... I was one of the last to go..." Simon whimpered, shivering. "I'm hungry..."

Alan bit his lip and shifted over in the bed, keeping the sheet covering his nude form as he reached over to grab a tin off the table; his stump poking out of the sheet as he stretched. "Here—it's all I have. They're cookies my father made for me."

Simon, however, started, pointing at the stump of a leg in horror. "WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO YOU?!"

Alan looked down and frowned, a sad look crossing his features, "A man attacked my family…And I lost my leg trying to fight him off. He shot me with a poisoned scythe arrow…it made my leg decay and die so the doctors had to cut it off before it killed more of my body…" He shifted the blankets back over his stump, "Please don't look at it."

Simon stared at him, first at his stump then in the eye. Suddenly, without warning the man pulling himself up onto the bed, leaping to embrace the brunet in a hug. "Don't be sad!"

Alan stiffened, not knowing what to do. It was awkward—he was naked under the sheets.

"Don't be sad." Simon repeated. "You still have your other leg, right? That means you can only half walk instead of no walking at all!"

"I don't…think it works like that, Simon…"

Simon tilted his head to the side, strays strands of thin blond hair falling in front of his face. "But you have such a good love life and regular life! Surely that must compensate for something? I mean, yeah you lost your leg... but you still have another one to stand on - you're not alone when you suffer."

Alan looked down, "How can I protect them, though? My husband—my children and grandchildren…I just want to protect them…"

"You still can - you proved your husband with security, do you not?" Simon asked.

He shook his head, "What if it happens again? That man was after my granddaughter…"

"Why?"

He shook his head, "I'm not sure…He wants my two oldest grandchildren from what I can tell…"

Simon pulled away gazing at Alan with questioning eyes. "Do they know him?"

"I'm not sure…he acted like he knew them…"

"What did he look like?"

"At first he was a shadow." Alan shrugged, "But then a reaper. I wasn't paying attention to what he looked, I was more focused on other things."

"I guess that makes sense..." Simon nodded.

"'E looked like a twat, tha's wha' 'e was." Eric's voice rang out, the man slipping into the room with the night guard from before; at once, Simon shrieked in terror.

"Eh? It's you. Why did you take off running?" The guard asked.

"I... Um... I... PLEASE DON'T REAP ME!" Simon wailed, hiding his head in his arms.

Eric, meanwhile, slipped over to the side of the bed, picking up his nightshirt and handing it to Alan to cover himself with. "Found this guy searching' the halls; turns out the blondie here escaped the labs."

Alan pulled the shirt on and glanced at Simon, "The labs?"

"I fond him locked in one of the rooms which are supposed to be empty. Then he took off after I let him out and asked if he'd like something to eat."

"I don't like uncomfortable feelings..." Simon mumbled, drawing his knees up to his chest. "That lab felt too intimidating... too ill intended..."

"I wasn't going to keep you down there…" The guard stated.

"The whole area was uncomfortable!" Simon fussed, flapping his hands in exasperation. "I don't want to go back there!"

"I was going to take you up to the security office where we could find out whi this 'Kai' is that you mentioned."

"'Kai'?" Eric questioned with a frown. "But-"

"Oh! Yes, yes, I need to find Kai!" Simon exclaimed, scrambling up only to fall back down again in pain. "Ah... My ankle..."

"…Why…are you after Kai?" Alan asked, paling. He hoped this man wasn't working with the man who had attacked them.

"You know the person he's looking for?" the guard asked.

"'E's our grandson..." Eric frown, his brow furrowing in distrust of the blond Reaper lying at the foot of Alan's bed. "Oi! Ya...Wha's yer business with our family?"

"K-Kai..." Simon whimpered, shifting to put the pressure off his inured ankle. "Kai's my friend... my only friend left... He gave me a candy bar in the mines once..."

"…Mines?" Alan looked at his husband, "The only time he was in a mine was-!"

The guard looked confused.

"Which mines?" the brunet asked.

Simon gave him a confused look. "The Timberdale Mines... the ones our Dispatch was built right above... I remember being in there at some point, but I don't why... My only memories are faded, and I'm either alone wandering through dark tunnels or with Kai... It was like I was asleep or something...I don't remember being me."

"…Reports of activity in Timberdale…" Alan whispered.

"Huh?" Simon gave him an even more confused look. "I don't understand..."

"...Oh fuck." Eric growled, taking his husband into his arms. "Any chance ya can lock this guy up in chains or somethin'?"

"…Wha? Why?"

"Wait!" Alan put his hands up to block Simon from Eric, "I've been talking to him—and he seems more like a confused kid than anything else! And maybe he knows where Kai disappeared to."

"I dun know..." Eric growled, glaring over at the strange blond, of whom had become fixated on the patterning on Alan's quilt. "I dun trust 'im... Especially if 'e was in league with a couple o' nutjobs..."

"We don't know everything, Eric—and we all want Kai back home safe and sound."

Simon paused for a moment, letting out a tired yawn the same time his stomach growled. Flopping over, he curled up, sleepy.

"There, see? He hasn't tried attacking anyone…let's give him the benefit of the doubt for now."

Eric was silent for a moment. "Fine...but one wrong move from 'im, an' 'is head is mine."

He eyed the man, watching as Simon pulled some of the blankets over his thin body, moaning sleepily.

Alan gasped, grabbing a stray shirt to help cover his missing leg when it was slightly uncovered.

"…What do you want me to do with him, then?" the guard asked.

"I dun know... Ain' our problem." Eric said bluntly,

"It is—he's sleeping on your husband's toes like a puppy."

"Look, with all due respect, jus' throw 'im in some room 'r somethin'! 'S not like 'e's our kid or whatever - I already have two, an' tha's enough fer me. Probably should get 'im a doctor first - ankle's lookin' bad..."

The man nodded and scooped Simon up to carry him out.

Simon clung to the blanket, snuggling into it as it was pulled up with him. Eric's eye twitched and he grabbed the end of it, trying to tug it away. The result was a small tug-of-war session between the two Reapers.

"Al... Whaddya think we should do?"

"Simon…please let go of my blanket?" Alan asked kindly.

"I meant abou' Kai" Eric said. "D'ya think this guy could help us find 'im?"

"I'm not sure—but aren't you willing to try? I am and I know our son would be."

"I'm willin' if ya are... I jus' dun wanna make a mistake tha's gonna get anyone else in our family hurt..." Eric said.

Alan lowered his gaze. He hadn't been the greatest judge of character with Alex…maybe he was making a mistake with Simon, too.

Eric seemed to be thinking along similar lines, as a moment later he voiced out, "Now tha' I look a' 'im... Doesn' 'e look like Alex a bit?"

Simon stirred, blearily opening his eyes a crack to glance over at Alan.

Alan flinched and said nothing.

"Mama?" Simon slurred, his vision still blurry and his mind disoriented from hunger and exhaustion.

"…I'm not your mother!" Alan gasped.

"Mama..." Simon sighed, letting his eyes flutter closed; Eric raised an eyebrow.

"Wha' the 'ell...?"

"…No…he's not like Alex…" the brunet sighed.

"So it seems." Eric nodded, drawing Alan into his arms. "Seems a bit odd... Ron said there were only zombies in the mines..."

"I don't know…" Alan sighed, leaning against Eric, "I just don't know anymore."

"Dun think on it then, love... Rest" Eric soothed, kissing the brunet's cheek. "Are ya warm enough?"

Alan shook his head, "He's still taking the blankets and I'm—" he glanced down to silently tell him he was still half naked.

Eric nodded, reaching down to fetch Alan's pants, handing the clothes to his husband before yanking at the blanket again.

* * *

**-To be continued**


	7. Chapter 7

Kai gasped, hurrying after the owner of the bar he was in, "But why not?!" he asked, weaving between the chairs and tables, ducking around customers and waitresses, "Please! I can sing, I can!"

He'd been begging for a chance at performing on stages, but it seemed open mic nights no longer were a thing in most bars that hosted live bands.

The owner of the downtown New York bar heaved a sigh of frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, kid. You say you have talent, and I bet you do... but I don't do solo singers. Only big groups are making it these days, aside from the lucky few."

"But—I don't have a band…" He looked down, "I'm all alone and I have to get a spot on stage…"

The man shook his head, turning and walking straight into the back. Customers turned their heads to the boy for a moment, then when back to their meals - it was not an new sight, seeing a youth attempt to make his or her debut to stardom in the Big Apple.

Kai whimpered in frustration. He'd tried every bar he came across and it was always the same thing. He was getting desperate.

"Hey," a voice called out from the bar. "You. The pretty boy."

"Pretty…boy..?" Kai looked up, glancing around.

There was no else at the bar aside from a man, sitting hunched over a small glass of liquor and a newspaper.

"…Excuse me…did you say something?" he asked.

At first he said nothing, merely turning the page of the newspaper.

"Um…" Kai looked around again before speaking up a little louder, "Excuse me? Did you say something?"

"Hm?" the man glanced over his shoulder, red hair brushing back to reveal a scuffy-looking face. "Yeah... You said you're a singer?"

The boy nodded, "Y-yeah?"

"Nice to know." the man said, turning back to his paper.

Kai frowned, clearly confused, "…Okay…" he turned to shuffle out of the bar.

The man eyed the boy out of the corner of his eye for a moment, watching as he left the bar with slumped shoulders. Reaching into the pocket of his faded red jacket, he tugged out a small black smart phone. Fiddling with the buttons, he dialed a number, holding the phone to his ear as he spoke, still keeping his eyes on the door.

"Andy, it's me... I think I found something..."

* * *

Pinstripe had been waiting out of sight for Kai, and when the boy reappeared, he scurried to Kai's side. The boy picked him up and sighed, taking a seat on a half-wall outside a nearby business, "No luck here, either…"

Pinstripe gazed up at his master, resting his paws on the boy's chest and sniffing his chin. The cars and taxis clogging the road honked and sped left and right, people darting back and forth between them on crosswalks to get to where they were going.

"Come on, let's go see if we can find a place to sleep tonight…Don't worry about dinner, I managed to get us some bread with the money we found."

The skunk butted his head against Kai's shoulder, thoroughly pleased with the news of food. Three days they'd had to suffer on measly scraps, until Kai was lucky enough to find a few dollars in change dropped on the sidewalk. People never gave the boy a passing glance, acting as if he was just another slab of concrete or brick in the wall. It was as if the boy were a ghost, and no one could see him - he would have believed it, too, if it weren't for the fact that he was visible and very much alive.

Kai smiled and hopped up, "Okay! Lets go find a nice dry place safe from drunks and crooks!" Making sure his bag was still secure, Kai started off down the street, looking upwards. It was safest up off the ground because people didn't look above for people to take advantage of.

* * *

The man stepped out of the bar, still talking into his cell phone.

"Look, I know we've had some phony performers, but our luck's been shit, and I think we should take every opportunity we've got... No, I'm not going ask him to jump the bandwagon - I'm going to do a little research first. Kid's cute enough and has the looks... Plus, I think he's a Brit. That would do us some good, don't you think? A little cultural flavor, yeah? Plus, people love British voices - it's the accent 'r somethin'. Look, I'm just going to go observe the kid and see if he has what it takes... provided he sings, and by what I saw inside, he's the type to sing on his alone time..."

The redhead sighed, fiddling with a stray thread on his jacket, turning his head to see the boy standing on the street corner. Smirking, he watched as the youth looked left and right before crossing the street. "Little lost lamb in the Big Apple..."

Then his eyes widened, as the boy suddenly stopped at the edge of the sideway, taking a moment to inhale deeply before leaping up and literally running up the side of the building. The man gawked, sputtering, completely shocked.

"_Uh, Antonio...? Everything alright_?" the voice on the other end of the phone called out.

"Y-Yeah... Just... I'll call you back, something came up..." he managed, shakily hanging up the phone as he saw the boy disappear onto the roof of an apartment complex.

What the hell just happened?! Did that boy just run up the side of a building? Looking around, Antonio scanned the streets, expecting to see a commotion of people just as startled as he.

To his immense surprise, not a soul seemed bothered, continuing about like nothing strange or unusual had just occurred. As if they never saw the boy to begin with. He frowned, brow furrowing in confusion - just what was going on?

Shaking his head, he bolted across the street, cars honking as he came barreling in front of them. Ignoring the angry shouts of drivers, he made for the building, busting through the doors and aiming for a stairwell.

* * *

Kai sighed, "Not much, but theres some nice crates over there we could stack up nicely for a shelter. I don't think it'll rain tonight, either" he said, moving one of the empty wooden boxes out to be used as a table. He let Pinstripe down off his shoulder and onto the crate before digging in his bag and pulling out the bread with a smile, "It has raisons in it." He said, opening the plastic bag, "It was too close to their due date for selling it, so it was on sale and I could get this one rather than normal bread." He ripped a hunk of it off and handed it to the skunk before ripping off his own hunk to eat. They couldn't eat it all or they risked going hungry the next day, so they were careful not to eat too much at once.

Pinstripe immediately began nibbling at his share, going for the raisons first.

Coming up the stairs to the roof, Antonio immediately crept behind a load of crates, spotting the boy with... was that a skunk? What the hell was this?

Shaking his head, he pulled out his phone again, dialing a different number. Whatever this kid was, he had a nasty feeling he wasn't human - and there was only one person he knew was crazy enough to have knowledge on the occult.

"Hello, Mary? I have something really messed up that I need your help with..."

"Slow down, Pin! You'll give yourself a tummy ache again like three days ago." Kai sighed, scratching the skunk's head, "No one is going to take your dinner, silly. No dogs are up here or anything. Just you and I." He bit into his hunk of bread and leaned back against the wall, humming a lullaby that his father used to sing to him and his siblings.

Antonio listened his friend's high pitched squealing, pausing as a new sound filled the air. Lowered the phone for a moment, he tilted his head, hearing soft words being sung after a moment of humming.

"Antonio?"

"Sorry, just... Humor me here? Any idea on what the guy could be?"

Kai's words took on a German dialect, but stayed soft and sweet.

"

_"How the world stands still, in twighlight's veil, so sweet and snug, As a still room, Where the day's misery, You will sleep off and forget. _

_"__Do you see the moon standing there? You can only see half of it, and it is so round and beautiful! Such are several things, that we laugh at mockingly, because our eyes do not see. _

_"__Us proud children's men, Are poor and vain; And do not know much, We spin spirit's of the air, And look for many arts, And come further from the goal_."

He paused, and sighed, "…Do you think father's angry at me, Pinstripe? I know Mum looked upset before we jumped into the bay…But Dad's probably mad…"

Pinstripe grunted, finishing off the last of his meal before climbing up into the boy's lap, little tongue licking away a few remaining crumbs on his snout.

"Don't grunt at me like that. We can't go back…not until after I can be a singer and not have to go through years of doing boring deskwork like everyone else, first."

The skunk stamped his feet, throwing a small temper tantrum before turning around to show his tail to Kai.

"Don't be like that! If I go back they'll make me go back to school and I'll be failing again! I'm only a disappointment! There's no way I could ever be as great as Great-Grandfather or Mother… Bri has the potential to be as famous as them…I can't even get up to Father or Grandfather and Grandmother's level...It's why I had to leave and find my own path."

Antonio listened to the boy speak, a frown lacing his lips. So, a kid who ran away from home, huh? Interesting... but by the sounds of it, the poor kid was going to be roped into some kind of business. He shook his head - he understood the youth's reluctance, having seen the same pressures upon many of the kids in his class.

Stretching the young reaper sighed, "Come on, let's get these crates set up for shelter. It's starting to get dark." He set the skunk aside on the floor before getting up and grabbing two crates.

Antonio shifted, about to sneak away back to the stairs when his elbow hit a box. Almost in slow motion, the crate teetered, shifting before falling down with a crash.

Kai gasped, stumbling back in shock as the stranger was revealed. "Y-you! You're the guy from the pub!" he gasped.

Pinstripe; equally as shocked, scampered over to the man and turned around as if to spray him; though as usual, nothing happened.

Antonio blinked, staring down at the skunk in mild surprise and disbelief. When he smelt nothing, he relaxed, turning his attention to the boy. Nervously chuckling, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey there..."

"…Were you following me?" Kai confronted him, hands on his hips, "Why?"

"Umm..." Antonio thought for a moment, trying to come up with answer, "Well... What am I supposed to do when I see a guy walk up the side of a building?"

Kai froze, his eyes wide as he looked at the stranger, "…What?" No one should have been able to see him do that—unless they weren't a normal human mortal, that is. Reapers, demons, angels…even witches would have been able to see, but reapers have a natural ability to turn invisible to mortal eyes. That was one thing he could do.

Antonio eyed him suspiciously. "That's not normal... I was right, you aren't a normal human, are you? If you are human at all..."

This was very risky; the territory he was stepping into was dangerous, but at the moment the man could care less. He had nothing to lose, and something told him that this boy was far from being a deadly force.

Kai grabbed Pinstripe who made a startled noise; hugging him to his chest like a scared child holding his teddy bear. He bit his lip, not knowing if he should confirm it or not. It wasn't exactly against the rules to tell, but history was littered with misunderstanding between the mortals and immortals. It had become an unwritten rule not to tell.

Antonio continued persecuting the subject, pressing the boy for an answer. "Are you a ghost?"

"A ghost? No! Ghosts are human souls that don't get properly collected after death and escape their corpses on their own! They also are see-through. Do I look transparent to you?" Kai asked.

"'Human souls'? Ha! I knew it! You aren't human after all, are you?" the man cried out, pointing at the boy in accusation.

"Well, I've never seen animal ghosts, have you? And last I checked I don't look like an animal. Right, Pin?"

The man's expression went from triumphant to bewildered.

"I'm not a ghost, and neither is Pin. Pinstripe is my pet and best friend, and I'm just a boy."

"Then explain to me the climbing up the side of building" Antonio snapped.

"…You're seeing things!" The boy suggested and the skunk seemed to nod in agreement.

But the man snorted. "Kid, I substitute teach at high school... I know bull shit when I see it, and that was clear bullshit!"

"I'm just an ordinary boy from London!" He insisted.

"Somehow, I don't believe that." the man growled, crossing his arms.

"I am ordinary, though!" he insisted. Maybe not to humans, but he was in the way of Reapers…

"Walking up the side of an apartment building is normal?"

"…Seeing someone do something impossible is normal?" He questioned back.

"Nice try, but no." Antonio took a step forward. "Now, consider yourself lucky - anyone else saw that, they would have freaked and called the cops."

"No! You shouldn't have seen it at all, let alone anyone else! But you're human, so…wait…Did you almost die?"

"No, not that I can think off... Except at birth" the man replied.

"If it was serious enough…and Death literally touched you before they brought you back…" The boy muttered in thought, mostly to himself, "It would explain how you could see…"

"So you're saying you're Death then?" the man inquired.

He shook his head, "I'm a reaper, not Death. Only the strongest of our kind can become 'death'. I can't even pass the practice exam…"

"A reaper? There's more of you?" Antonio asked.

Truth be told, the man was shocked; his blood seemed to freeze and his hairs stood on end. Before him stood a creature of death, a being that could take his life in a mere second and never think twice about it. But then, hearing the boy's explanation, he stopped, frowning.

"Of course there are! We're a whole race of people. That's why I'm saying the truth that I'm ordinary. We exist in our own societies all over the world, just like humans. But not many of us are strong enough to properly wield a scythe and collect the souls of the dying humans. That's why it's such a stressful job…each Dispatch is understaffed because officers have to be able to use a scythe properly on top of know how to fight demons and angels who may try to steal and destroy souls. Humans see us every day but don't know because humans like to over-react."

Kai looked down at Pinstripe, "…Please don't over-react! I don't want to be treated as some science experiment or a witch!"

"No, no... Trust me; I've seen weird shit in my life. I have a friend who's a member of an occult." Antonio sighed, moving to sit down on a crate. Seeing as the boy possessed no external threat, the man decided it would be safe to stick around for a bit. The youth did have a lovely voice, after all.

Kai sighed, "…I'm Kai, by the way, Kai Knox-Spears, and this is Pinstripe. Don't worry, Father and Mother got his spray sack taken out when I begged them to let me keep him. They got tired of people getting sprayed when Pin got spooked."

The man chuckled, and Pinstripe growled at him. "He doesn't seem to know it."

"Not at all. He still will try to spray people and things he has problems with. He especially hates baths…and water. Rain is his worst enemy." Kai said with a small smile.

"I see..." the man reached out to pet the skunk, withdrawing his hand when the animal snarled.

"Pin! Be nice and maybe this man won't call the police."

"Animal shelter is more likely - I don't know what the police would do in a situation like this." Antonio smirked, glancing around the rooftops. "So... this is your pad, or what?"

Kai shook his head, "Only for tonight…we move around…New York is way too expensive…"

The man nodded in agreement, eyeing the crates lying about. "Hey... listen, kid, if you need a place to stay, I know someone who could help you."

"…Who? Not the animal shelter!"

"No, no!" the man waved his hands in defense. "I said before that I have a friend who's crazy about the occult - she'd be more than happy to grant you living space."

"….I don't know what that is…" Kai admitted.

"An occult is... Actually, it's probably better I don't tell you. You'd freak out too much." the man hid a smirk. "Come on, it'd be better than living out here - she takes supernaturals in all the time. It'll be fine!"

He crossed his arms, "Why are you helping us?"

"I'm not." Antonio sighed, getting to his feet. "I only came up here because I saw some kid run up the side of the building - and I'd be a dick to leave said homeless kid in the cold. I gave you an offer - it's your choice to take it, and I think your skunk would prefer a warm bed and soup to a cold crate."

"…You're confusing." He turned away and looked at Pinstripe, "…What do you think, Pin, should we trust him?"

The skunk snorted, butting his head against the boy's arm.

"…Alright…we'll try it." He nodded.

* * *

**To be continued...**

* * *

**-XXX-**

**Note:** Song featured in this chapter is an old 18th century German Folksong called "**_Der Mond ist aufgegangen_**"

**-XXX-**


End file.
